LIFE AND VOYAGES

or

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

HISTORY

0& THE, . _ . / ^^ ^

LIFE AND VOYAGfES

,v, ^CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

.^J^,

BY WASHINGTON IRVING.

Venient annis
Ssecula seris, quibus Oceanus
Vincula rerura laxet, et ingens
Pateat tellus, Typhisque novos
Detegat Orbes, nee sit terris
Ultima Thule.

Seneca Medea,

A NEW EDITION REVISED AND CORRECTED BY THE AUTHOR.

IN TWO VOLUMES.

PHILADELPHIA:
LEA & BLANCHARD.

FOR

GEORGE W. GORTON.
1841.

^'S

Entered according to the Act of Congress, in the year One Thousand Eight Hun-
dred and Thirty-one, by Washinston Irving, in the Clerk's Office of the bouthern
District of New York. '

» ' % i > *

PREFACE.

Being at Bordeaux, in the winter of 1826-6, 1 received a letter
from my friend Mr. Alexander Everett, Minister Plenipotentiary
of the United States at Madrid, inviting me to visit that capital, and
informing me, as an inducement to do so at an early period, that
there was a work then in the press, edited by Don Martin Fernandez
de Navarrete, Secretary of the Royal Academy of History, &c. &c.
containing a collection of documents relative to the voyages of Co-
lumbus, among which were many of a highly important nature,
recently discovered. Mr. Everett expressed an opinion that a version
of the work into English, by one of our country, would be peculiarly
desirable, and thought that it might furnish me with an interesting
and agreeable occupation during my sojourn in the Spanish capital*
I concurred with him in the opinion, and having for some time con-
templated a visit to Madrid, I shortly after set off for that capital,
with an idea of undertaking, while there, the translation of the
work.

Soon after my arrival, the publication of Mr. Navarrete made its
appearance. I found it to contain many documents hitherto un-
known, which threw additional lights on the discovery of the new
world, and which reflected great credit on the researches of the
learned editor. Still the whole presented rather a mass of rich
materials for history, than a history itself There were precious
tracts for the mere man of research, but the sight of disjointed
papers and official documents is apt to be repulsive to the general
reader, who seeks for clear and connected narrative. These circum-

PREFACE.

stances made me hesitate in my proposed undertaking; yet the
subject was of so interesting and national a kind, that I could not

willingly abandon it.

On considering the matter more maturely, I perceived that,
although there were many books, in various languages, relative to
Columbus, they all contained limited and incomplete accounts of his
life and voyages ; while numerous valuable tracts on the subject,
existed only in manuscript, or in the form of letters, journals and
public acts. It appeared to me that a history faithfully digested
from these various materials, was a desideratum in literature, and
would be a more satisfactory occupation to myself, and a more
acceptable work to my country, than the translation I had con-

templated.

I was encouraged to undertake such a work by the great facUities
which I found within my reach at Madrid. I was resident under
the roof of the American Consul, O. Rich, Esq., one of the most
indefatigable bibliographers in Europe, and who for several years
had made particular researches after every document relative to the
early history of America. In his extensive and curious library I
found one of the best collections extant of Spanish colonial history,
containing many documents for which I might search elsewhere m
vain This he put at my absolute command, with a frankness and
unreserve seldom to be met with among the possessors of such rare
and valuable works; and his library has been my main resource
throuo-hout the whole course of my labours.

I found also the royal library of Madrid, and the library of the
Jesuits' college of San Isidro, two noble and extftnsive^ coUections,
open to access, and conducted with great order and liberality.
From Don Marfm de Navarrete I received the most obliging
assistance, communicating various valuable and curious p>ece3
«f information, discovered in the course of his researches; nor can
I refrain from testifymg my admiration of the self-sustained zeal
of that estimable man, one of the last veterans of Spanish literature;
who U almost alone, yet indefatigable, in his labours in a country

PREFACE. vii

where, at present, literary exertion meets but little excitement or
-eward.

I must acknowledge also the liberality of the Duke of Veraguas,
the descendant and present representative of Columbus, who sub-
mitted the archives of his family to my inspection, and took a
personal interest m exhibiting the treasures it contains. Nor lastly,
must I omit my deep obligations to my excellent friend, Don
Antonio de Ugina, treasurer of Prince Francisco; a gentleman
of talents and erudition, and particularly versed in the history of his
country and its dependencies. To his unwearied investigations and
silent and unavowed contributions, the world is indebted for much
of the accurate information recently imparted on points of early
colonial history. In the possession of this gentleman are most of the
paperg of his deceased friend, the late historian Munoz, who was
cut off in the midst of his valuable labours. These, and various
other documents, have been imparted to me by Don Antonio, with
a kindness and urbanity which greatly increased, yet lightened the
obhgation.

With these and other aids incidentally afforded me by my local
situation, I have endeavoured, to the best of my abiUties, and the
time I could allow myself, during a sojourn in a foreign country, to
construct this history. I have diligently collated all the works that
I could find relative to my subject, in print and manuscript, com-
paring them, as far as in my power, with original documents, those
sure lights of historic research, endeavouring to ascertain the truth
amid those contradictions which will inevitably occur, where several
persons have recorded the same facts, viewing them from different
points, and under the influence of different interests and feelings.

In the execution of this work I have avoided indulging in mere
speculations or general reflections, except such as rose naturally out
ef the nature of the subject, preferring to give a minute and circum-
etantial narrative, omitting no particular that was characteristie
of the persons, the events, or the times, and endeavouring to place

viii PREFACE.

every fact in such a point of view, that the reader might perceive its
merits, and draw his own maxims and conclusions.

As many points of the history required explanations drawn from
contemporary events, and the literature of the times, I have prefer-
red, instead of encumbering the narrative, to give detached illustra-
tions at the end of the work. This also enabled me to indulge in
greater latitude of detail, where the subject was of a curious or
interesting nature, and the sources of information such as not to be
met with in the common course of reading.

After all, the work is presented to the public with extreme
diffidence. All that I can safely claim is an earnest desire to state
the truth, an absence from prejudices respecting the nations men-
tioned in my history, a strong interest m my subject, and a zeal to
make up by assiduity for the many deficiencies of which I was

conscious.

W. I.
Madrid, October ISth, 1827.

CON TE^ITS OF VOL. L

BOOK I. #

Page

Chap. I. Birth, Parentage, and Education of Columbus ... 3

II. Early Life of Colsmbus 7

II. Progress of Discovery under prince Henry of Portugal . . 12

IV. Residence of Columbus at Lisbon — Ideas concerning islands

in the ocean ........ 17

V. Grounds on which Columbus founded his belief of the existence

of undiscovered lands in the west . . . . .22

VI. Correspondence of Columbus with Paulo Toscanelli— Events

in Portugal relative to discoveries . . . . .27
VII. Propositions of Columbus to the Court of Portugal . . 32
VIII. Departure of Columbus from Portugal, and application to

other Courts 36

BOOK II.

Ohap. I. First arrival of Columbus in Spain *. • ir • • ,39

II. Characters of Ferdinand and Isabella .... .42

III. Propositions of Columbus to the Court of Castile . . 46

IV. Columbus before the council at Salamanca .... 51^
V. Further applications at the Court of Castile — Columbtfs follows

the Court in its campaigns ...... 57

VI. Applications to the Dukes of Medina Sidonia and Medina

Cell — Return to the convent of La Rabida . . . 63
Vn. Application to the Court at the time of the surrender of Gra-
nada .......... 67

VIII. Arrangement with the Spanish Sovereigns . . . .72

IX. Preparations for the expedition at the port of Palos . . 76

BOOK III.

Chap. I. Departure of Columbus on his first voyage . . . .81
II. Continuation of the voyage — First notice of the variation of the

needle ......... 85

III. Continuation of the voyage — Various terrors of the seamen . 88
IV Continuation of the voyage- Discovery of land . » 93

J

X CONTENTS.

BOOK IV.

Chap. I. First landing of Columbus in the New "World • . .102

II. Cruise among the Bahama Islands ..... 108

III. Discovery and Coasting of Cuba 114

IV. Further coasting of Cuba 120

V. Search after the supposed island of Babeque — Desertion of the

Pinta 125

VI. Discovery of Hispaniola ....... 129

VII. Coasting of Hispaniola 134

VIII. Shipwreck . . .137

IX. Transactions with the natives 140

X. Building of the fortress of La Navidad . . . .145
XI. Regulation of the fortress of La Navidad— Departure of Co-
lumbus for Spain 148

BOOK V.

Chap. I. Coasting towards the eastern end of Hispaniola — ^Meeting

with Pinzon — Affair with the natives at the Gulf of Samana. 152
n. Return voyage — Violent storms — Arrival at the Azores . 159

III. Transactions at the Island of St. Mary's . . . .164
rV. Arrival at Portugal— Visit to the Court . . . .167

V. Reception of Columbus at Palos 173

VI. Reception of Columbus by the Spanish Court at Barcelona . 177
VII. Sojourn of Columbus at Barcelona — Attentions paid him by

the sovereigns and courtiers . . . . . .181

Vm. Papal bull of partition — Preparations for a second voyage of

Columbus ......... 185

IX. Diplomatic negotiations between the courts of Spain and Por-
tugal, with respect to the new discoveries . . ,191
X. Further preparations for the second voyage— Character of
Alonzo de Ojeda — Differences of Columbus with Soria and #'
Foifteca . . . . . v . . .195

^ BOOK VI.

Chap. I. Departure of Columbus on his second voyage — Discovery of

the Caribbee Islands 201

II. Transactions at the island of Gaudaloupe .... 205
ni. Cruise among the Caribbee islands . . . . .211

IV. Arrival at the harbour of La Navidad — Disaster of the fortress 216
V. Transactions with the natives — Suspicious conduct of Gua-

canagari ......... 224

VI. Founding of the city of Isabella — Maladies of the Spaniards . 229

VII. Expedition of Alonzo de Ojeda to explore the interior of the

island — Dispatchof the ships to Spain .... 232

VIII. Discontents at Isabella — Mutiny of Bernal Diaz de Pisa . 237
IX. Expedition of Columbus to the mountains of Cibao . . 240

X. Excursion of Juan de Luxan among the mountains — Customs
and characteristics of the natives — Return of Columbus to
Isabella 246

CONTENTS. M

Chap. XI. Arrival of Columbus at Isabella— sickness of the coiony .255

XII. Distribution of the Spanish forces in the interior— Preparations

for a voyage to Cuba . . . » . . . . 259

BOOK VII.

Chap. I. Voyage to the east end of Cuba . . . • • 263
II. Discovery of Jamaica 267 <

III. Return to Cuba— Navigation among the islands called the

Clueen's Garden .....••• 270

IV. Coasting of the southern side of Cuba .... 274
V. Return of Columbus along the southern coast of Cuba . . 281

VL Coasting voyage along the south side of Jamaica . . . 286
VII. Voyage along the south side of Hispaniola, and return ttf

Isabella 289

BOOK VIII.

Chap. I. Amval of the admiral at Isabella — Character of Bartholomew

Columbus 293

II. Misconduct of Don Pedro Margarite, and his departure from

- the island 297

m. Troubles witli the natives — ^Alonzo de Ojeda besieged by

Caonabo 301

IV. Measures of Columbus to restore the quiet of the island— Ex-
pedition of Ojeda to surprise Caonabo .... 306
V. Arrival of Antonio de Torres, with four ships from Spain —

His return with Indian slaves ..... 312
VI. Expedition of Columbus against the Indians of the Vega —

Battle 315

VII. Subjugation of the natives — Imposition of tribute . . . 319
^ . VIII. Intrigues against Columbus in the Court of Spain— Aguado

sent to investigate the affairs of Hispaniola . . . 324
IX. Arrival of Aguado at Isabella — ^His arrogant conduct— Tem-
pest in the harbour ....... 529

X. Discovery of the mines of Hayna 333

BOOK IX.

Chap. I. Return of Columbus to Spain with Aguado . . . 337

II. Declineof the popularity of Columbus in Spain— His reception

by the sovereigns at Burgos — He proposes a third voyage . 342
III. Preparations for a third voyage — Disappointments and delays 347

BOOK X.

Chap. I. Departure of Columbus from Spain on his third voyage— Dis-
covery of Trinidad ....... 355

II. Voyage through the gulf of Paria 360

III. Continuation of the voyage through the gulf of Paria — Return

to Hispaniola" ........ 368

IV. Speculations of Columbus concerning the coast of Paria . 373

xll CONTENTS.

BOOK XL

Pact
Chap. I. Adminiatration of the Adelantado— Expedition to the province

ofXaragua . . . . . . , . 379

II. Establisliment of a chain of military posts — Insurrection of

Guarionex, the cacique of the Vega .... 385

III. The Adelantado repairs to Xaragua to receive tribute . . 39 1

IV. Conspiracy of Roldan 394

V. The Adelantado repairs to the Vega in relief of Fort Concep-
tion— His interview with Roldan 399

VI. Second insurrection of Guarionex, and flight to the mountains

ofCiguay 403

VII. Campaign of the Adelantado in the mountains of Ciguay . 406

LIFE AND VOYAGES

OF

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

BOOK I.

Whether in old times, beyond the reach of history or tradition,
and in some remote period of civilization, when, as some imagine,
the arts may have flourished to a degree unknown to those whom
we term the Ancients, there existed an intercourse between the op-
posite shores of the Atlantic ; whether the Egyptian legend, narrated
by Plato, respecting the island of Atalantis, was indeed no fable,
but the obscure tradition of some vast country, engulphed by one of
those mighty convulsions of our globe, which have left traces of
the ocean on the summits of lofty mountains, must ever remain mat-
ters of vague and visionary speculation.

As far as authenticated history extends, nothing was known of
Terra Firma, and the islands of the western hemisphere, until their
discovery towards the close of the fifteenth century. A wandering
bark may occasionally have lost sight of the land-marks of the old
continents, and been driven by tempests across the wilderness of
waters, long before the invention of the compass, but never returned
to reveal the secrets of the ocean. And though, from time to time,
some document has floated to the shores of the old world, giving to
its wondering inhabitants evidences of land far beyond their watery
horizon, yet no one ventared to spread a sail, and seek that land en-
veloped in mystery and peril. Or if the legends of the Scandinavian
voyagers be correct, and their mysterious Vinland was the coast of
Labrador or the shore of Newfoundland, they had but transient
glimpses of the new world, leading to no certain or permanent
knowledge, and in a little time lost again to mankind.*

Certain it is that at the beginning of the fifteenth century, when

* See Illustrations at the end of this work, article, " Scandinavian Discoveries.^*
Vol I. 1 A

2 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book L

the most intelligent minds were seeking in every direction for the
scattered lights of geographical knowledge, a profound ignorance
prevailed among the learned as to the western regions of the Atlan-
tic; its vast waters were regarded with awe and wonder; seeming
to bound the world as with a chaos, into which conjecture could not
penetrate, and enterprise feared to adventure. We need no greater
proof of this than the description given of the Atlantic hy Xerif al
Edris, surnamed the Nubian, an eminent Arabian writer, whose coun-
trymen were the boldest navigators of the middle ages, and possessed
all that was then known of geography. "The ocean," he observes,
"encircles the ultimate bounds of the inhabited earth, and all beyond
it is unknown. No one has been able to verify any thing concern-
ing it, pn account of its difficult and perilous navigation, its great
obscurity, its profound depth and frequent tempests, through fear of
its mighty fishes, and its haughty winds; yet there are many islands
in it, some peopled, others uninhabited. There is no mariner who
dares to enter into its deep waters; or if any have done so, they
have merely kept along its coasts, fearful of departing from them.
The waves of this ocean, although they roll as high as mountains,
yet maintain themselves without breaking; for if they broke it would
be impossible for ship to plough them."*

It is the object of the following work, to relate the deeds and
fortunes of the mariner, who first had the judgment to divine, and
the intrepidity to brave, the mysteries of this perilous deep; and who,
by his hardy genius, his inflexible constancy, and his heroic courage,
brought the ends of the earth into communication with each other.
The narrative of his troubled life is the link which connects the
history of the old world with that of the new.

* Descript. of Spain, by Xerif al Edris : Conde's Spanish translation, Ma-
drid, 1799.

Chap. I.J CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

CHAPTER I.

BIRTH, PARENTAGE, AND EDUCATION OF COLUMBUS.

Of the earlj days of Christopher Columbus nothing certain is known,
his very origin is Involved in obscurity ; and such has been the per-
plexing ingenuity of commentators, that it is difficult to extricate the
truth from the web of conjectures with which it is interwoven. Judg-
ing from the testimony of one of his contemporaries and intimates,*
who is entitled to perfect faith, he must have been born about the
year 1435 or 1436. Several places contend for the honour of having
given him birth, but it seems satisfactorily established that he was
a native of the ancient city of Genoa. A like contention has arisen
with respect to his lineage. More than one noble family has laid
claim to him, since his name has become so illustrious as to confer
rather than receive distinction. It is probable that all these families,
together with that of Columbus, may be branches from one common
stock, though shaken asunder, and some of them cast down by the civil
wars of Italy. It does not appear that there had been any nobility in his
family, within the knowledge of himself or his contemporaries; nor
is the fact material to his fame. It is certainly more honourable to
his memory to be the object of contention among various noble
families, than to be able to designate the most illustrious descent.
His son Fernando, who wrote his history, and who made a journey
to investigate his claims to ancestry, tacitly relinquishes all preten-
sions of the kind ; pronouncing it better that his family should date
its glory from the Admiral, than look beyond him, to ascertain
whether his predecessors had been ennobled, and had kept hawk
and hound; "for I am of opinion," he adds, "that 1 should derive
less dignity from any nobility of ancestry, than from being the son
of such a father."!

The immediate parentage of Columbus was poor, though reput-
able and meritorious, his father being a wool-comber, long resident in
the city of Grenoa. He was the eldest of four children, having two

* Andres Bernaldes, commonly known as the Curate of Los Palacios. For
remarks on the age, birth, birth-place, and parentage of Columbus, see the Illustra-
tions at the end of this work.

t Hist, del Almirante, Cap. II.

4 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book I.

brothers, Bartholomew and Giacomo, or, as his name was translated
into Spanish, Diego, and one sister, of whom nothing is known, ex-
cepting that she was married to a person in obscure life, called
Giacomo Baverello.

The family name in Italian is Colombo : it was latinized into
Columbus by himself in his earlier letters, and by others in their
writings concerning him, in compliancy with the usage of the times,
when Latin was the general language of correspondence, and that
in which every name of historical importance was written. The
discoverer, however, is better known in Spanish history as Cristoval
Colon, having altered his name when he removed to Spain. The
principal reason given by his son for this alteration, was, that his
descendants might be distinguished from collateral branches of the
family. For this purpose, he recurred to what was supposed to be tht
Roman origin of the name, Colonus, which he abbreviated to Colon,
to adapt it to the Castilian tongue. From his variety of appellations,
the name of Columbus is retained in the present history, as that by
which he has been most generally known throughout the world.

His education was limited, though as extensive probably as the
indigent circumstances of his parents would permit. When quite a
child he was taught to read and write, and wrote so good a hand,
says Las Casas, who possessed many of his manuscripts, that with it
he might have earned his bread.* He made equal proiiciency in
arithmetic, drawing and design, and afterwards became well ac-
quainted with grammar and the Latin tongue. He had at a very early
.age evinced a strong passion for geographical knowledge, and an
irresistible inclination for the sea ; his education, therefore, was princi-
pally directed to those studies proper to fit him for maritime life. To
give him an insight into the requisite sciences, he was sent for a short
time to Pavia, the great school of learning in Lombardy, where he
was instructed in geometry, geography, astronomy, or as it was at
that time termed, astrology, and navigation.! These studies, so
congenial to his taste and wishes, were pursued with characteristic
ardour, and laid the foundation in his mind for all his future great-
ness. In the latter part of his life, when impressed with the sublime
events which had been brought about through his agency, he looked
back upon his career with a solemn and superstitious feeling, he
mentions this early determination of his mind as a secret impulse
from the Deity, guiding him to the studies, and inspiring him with

* Las Casas' Hist. Ind. L. 1. C. 3. MS.

i Hist, del Almirante, C. 2k ^

Chap. L] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 5

the inclinations, which should fit him for the high decrees he was
chosen to accomplish.*

In tracing the early history of a man like Columbus, whose
actions have had so vast an effect on human affairs, it is interesting
to notice how much has been owing to the influence of events, and
how much to an inborn propensity of the mind. The most original
and inventive genius grows more or less out of the times; and that
strong impulse, which Columbus considered as supernatural, is un-
consciously produced by the operation of external circumstances.
Every now and then, thought takes some sudden and general direc-
tion; either revisiting some long neglected region of knowledge,
and exploring and reopening its forgotten paths, or breaking with
wonder and delight into some fresh and untrodden field of discovery.
It is then that an ardent and imaginative genius, catching the im-
pulse of the day, outstrips all less gifted contemporaries, takes the
lead of the throng by which it was first put in motion, and presses
forward ta achievements, which feebler spirits would never have
adventured to attempt. We find an illustration of this remark in
Columbus. The strong passion for geographical knowledge, which
he so early felt, and which gave rise to his after actions, was incident
to the age in which he lived. Geographical discovery was the
brilliant path of light, which was for ever to distinguish the fifteenth
century ; the most splendid era of invention in the annals of the world.
During the long night of monkish bigotry and false learning. Geogra-
phy, with the other sciences, had been lost to the European natioi^
Fortunately it had not been lost to mankind ; it had taken refuge
in the bosom of Africa. While the pedantic schoolmen of the
cloisters were wasting time and talent, and confounding erudition
by idle reveries, and sophistical dialectics, the Arabian sages, assem-
bled at Senaar, were taking the measurement of a degree of latitude,
and calculating the circumference of the earth on the vast plains of
Mesopotamia.

True knowledge, thus happily preserved, was now making its
way back to Europe. The revival of science accompanied the re-
vival of letters. Among the various authors which the awakening
zeal for ancient literature had once more brought into notice, were
Pliny, Pomponius Mela, and Strabo. From these was regained a
fund of geographical knowledge which had long faded from the
public mind. Curiosity was aroused to pursue this forgotten path,
thus suddenly reopened. A translation of the work of Ptolemy

Letter to the Castilian sovereigns, 1501. ^2

B LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book I

had been made into Latin, at the commencement of the century, by
Emanuel Chrysoloras, a noble and learned Greek, and had thus
been rendered more familiar to the Italian students. Another
translation had foUov/ed, by James Ang-el de Scarpiaria, of which
fair and beautiful copies became common in the Italian libraries.*
The writings also began to be sought after, of Averroes, Alfraganus,
and other Arabian sages, who had kept the sacred fire of science
alive during the interval of European darkness.

The knowledge thus reviving was but limited and imperfect ; yet,
like the return of morning light, it was full of interest and beauty.
It seemed to call a new creation into existence, and broke with all
the charm of wonder upon imaginative minds. They were surprised
at their own ignorance of the world around them. Every step
seemed discovery, for every region beyond their native country was
in a manner terra incognita.

Such was the state of information and feeling with respect to
this interesting science, in the early part of the fifteenth century.
An interest still more intense was awakening, from the discoveries
that began to be made along the Atlantic coasts of Africa; and must
have been particularly felt among a maritime and commercial
people like the Genoese. To these circumstances may we ascribe
the enthusiastic devotion which Columbus imbibed in his childhood
forcosmographical studies, and which influenced all his after fortunes.

In considering his scanty education, it is worthy of notice how
little he owed, from the very first, to adventitious aid ; how much to
the native energy of his character, and the fertility of his mind.
The short time that he remained at Pavia was barely sufficient
to give him the rudiments of the necessary sciences; the familiar
acquaintance with them, which he evinced in after life, must have
been the result of diligent self-schooling, and casual hours of study,
amidst the cares and vicissitudes of a rugged and wandering life.
He was one of those men of strong natural genius, who appear to form
themselves ; who from having to contend at their very outset, with
privations and impediments, acquire an intrepidity to encounter,
and a facility to vanquish difficulties, throughout their career.
Such men learn to effect great purposes with small means, supply-
ing this deficiency by the resources of their own energy and inven-
tion. This, from his earliest commencement, throughout the whole
of his life, was one of the remarkable features in the history of
Columbus. In everj'' undertaking, the scantiness and apparent in-
sufficiency of his means enhance the grandeur of his achievements.

Andres Hist. B. Let. 1. 3. c. 2.

Chap. H.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

CHAPTER 11.

EARLY LIFE OF COLUMBUS.

Columbus left the university of Pavia while he was yet extremely
young and returned to his father's house in Genoa. Here, accord-
ing to a contemporary historian, he remained for some time, assist-
ing his father in his trade of wool-combing.* The assertion is
indignantly contradicted by his son Fernando, who, however, gives
us no information to supply its place. He could not, at any rate,
have continued long in this employment, for according to his own
account he entered upon a nautical life at the age of fourteen ,,
years, t For this he had been educated, and to this he was prompted ^
by a roving and enterprising disposition, and by the peculiar circum-
stances of his native place.

In a maritime city the sea has irresistible attractions for a youth
of ardent curiosity, and his imagination pictures forth every thing
fair and desirable beyond its waters. Genoa, also, walled and
straitened on the land side by rugged mountains, yielded but little
scope for enterprise on shore, while an opulent and widely extended
commerce, visiting every country, and a roving marine, battling in
every sea, naturally led forth her children upon the wares, as their
propitious element. The violent factions, also which raged within
the bosom of that splendid city, and often dyed her streets with the
blood of the inhabitants, contributed to promote this disposition to
emigrate. A historian of Genoa laments this proneness of its youth to
wander abroad in quest of fortune. "They go," said he, "with the
intention of returning when they shall have acquired the means of
living comfortably and honourably in their native place ; but we
know from long experience, that of twenty who thus depart scarce
two return; either dying abroad, or taking to themselves foreign
wives, or being loth to expose themselves to the tempest of civil dis-
cords which distract the republic." J

About the time that Columbus entered upon his nautical career

* Agostino Giustiniani. Ann. de Genova. His assertion has been echoed by
other historians, viz. Anton. Gallo de Navigatione Columbi, &c. Muratori, T. 23.
Barta Senarega, de rebus Genuensibus, Muratori, T. 24.

♦ Hist, del Almirante, C. 4.

t Foglieta, Istoria de Genoa, L. 2.

8 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book. I.

there was a hardy sea captain of the name of Colombo, a distant
^ relation, who had acquired considerable celebrity by his daring
cruises, and who appears at times to have enjoyed the rank of
admiral in the service of Genoa. With this veteran Columbus
sailed on several occasions and for a considerable length of time,*
and it is probable, under his rough schooling, was first initiated into
the toils and perils of the seas.

The seafaring life of the Mediterranean, in those days, was made
up of hazardous voyages and daring enterprises. Even a commer-
cial expedition resembled a warlike cruise, and the maritime mer-
chant had often to fight his way from port to port. Piracy was
'^ almost legitimatized. The frequent feuds between the Italian states,
the cruisings of the Catalonians; the armadas fitted out by private
noblemen, who exercised a kind of sovereignty in their own domains,
and kept petty armies and navies in their pay ; the roving ships
and squadrons of private adventurers, a kind of naval Condottieri,
sometimes employed by hostile governments, sometimes scouring the
seas in search of lawless booty; these, with the holy wars con-
tinually waged against the Mahometan powers, rendered the narrow
seas, to which navigation was principally confined, scenes of the
most hardy encounters and trying reverses.

Such was the rugged school in which Columbus was reared, and
it would have been deeply interesting to have marked the early
development of his genius amidst its stern adversities. Surrounded
by the hardships and humilities which beset a poor adventurer in a
seafaring life, he still seems ever to have cherished a lofty tone of
thought, and to have fed his imagination with schemes of glorious
enterprise. The severe and varied lessons of his youth gave him
that practical knowledge, that fertility of resource, that undaunted
resolution, and vigilant self-command, for which he was afterwards
remarkable. In this way, the fruits of bitter experience are turned
to healthful aliment, by a vigorous genius and an aspiring mind.

All this instructive era of his history, however, is covered with
darkness. His son Fernando, who could have best elucidated it,
has left it in obscurity, or has now and then perplexed us with cros
lights; perhaps unwilling, from a principle of mistaken pride, to
reveal the indigence and obscurity from which his father so gloriously
emerged. A few vague and scattered anecdotes are all that exist;
but they are interesting, as giving glimpses of the chequered and
adventurous life he must have led.

The first voyage in which we have any account of his being

* Hist, del Almirante, C. 5.

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. ^

engaged was a naval expedition, having for its object the recovery of
a crown. An Armament was fitted out in Genoa in 1459 by John of
Anjou, Duke of Calabria, to make a descent upon Naples, in
the hope of recovering that kingdom for his father king Reinicr,
or Renato, otherwise called Rene, Count of Provence. The repub-
lic of Genoa aided him with ships and money. The brilliant
nature of the enterprise attracted the attention of the daring and
restless spirits of the times. The chivalrous nobleman, the soldier
of fortune, the hardy corsair, the desperate adventurer, the merce-
nary partizan, all hastened to enlist under the banner of Anjou.
The veteran Colombo took a part in this expedition, either with
galleys of his own, or as a commander of the Genoese squadron, and
with him embarked his youthful relative, the future discoverer.
There is no mention of this fact among the biographers of Columbus
who were his contemporaries, none of whom indeed give any anec-
dotes of this period of his life; but it has been repeatedly affirmed by
later writers, who have made research into the subject, and circum-
stances concur to give weight to the assertion.

'The struggle of John of Anjou for the crown of Naples lasted
about four years, with varied fortune, but was finally unsuccessful.
The naval part of the expedition, in which Columbus was engaged,
signalized itself by acts of intrepidity ; and at one time, when the
Duke was reduced to take refuge in the island of Ischia, a hand-
ful of galleys scoured and controlled the bay of Naples.*

That Columbus distinguished himself.in the course of this gallant
but ill-fated enterprise, is apparent from the circumstance of his being
appointed at one time to a separate command, and despatched on a peril-
ous cruise, to cut out a galley from the harbour of Tunis. This is in-
cidentally mentioned by himself in a letter written many years after-
wards. It happened to me, he says, that king Reinier (whom God has
taken to himself) sent me to Tunis, to capture the galley Fernandina,
and when I arrived off the island of St. Pedro, in Sardinia, I was
informed that there were two ships and a carrack with the galley by
which intelligence my crew were so troubled that they determined to
proceed no further, but to return to Marseilles for another vessel and
more people; as T could not by any means compel them, I assented
apparently to their wishes, altering the point of the compass and
spreading all sail. It was then evening, and next morning we were
within the Cape of Carthagena, while all were firmly of opinion
that they were sailing towards Marseilles.*

* Colenuccio, Istoria de Nap. L. 7. C. 17.

t Letter of Columb. to the Catholic sovereigns, vide Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 4.

Vol. I. 2

10 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book I.

We have no further record of this bold cruise into the harbour of
Tunis; but in the foregoing particulars we behold early indications
of that resolute and persevering spirit which ensured him success in
his more important undertakings. His expedient to beguile 3, dis-
contented crew into a continuation of the enterprise, by deceiving
them with respect to the ship's course, will be found in unison with
a stratagem of altering the reckoning, to which he had recourse
in his first voyage of discovery.
~y There is an interval of many years, during which we have but
one or two shadowy traces of Columbus. He is supposed to have
been principally engaged in the Mediterranean and up the Levant,
sometimes in voyages of commerce, sometimes in warlike contests
between the Italian States, sometimes in pious and predatory expe-
ditions against the infidels. Part of the time he was in the danger-
ous service of his relation, the old Genoese commander, who appears
to have been one of those boisterous captains of the seas, who are
fond of rough encounters, and not very scrupulous as to the mode of
bringing them about. The Mediterranean has always been mor^
or less subject to nautical dictators of the kind, who carry maritime.
law at the mouths of their cannons. -At one time we find tha
veteran, when in the service of France, undertaking on his own
responsibility, to revenge a casual irruption into its territories, and
endangering the peace between that country and Spain by running
down and capturing Spanish vessels upon the high seas.* At
another time, when commanding a Genoese squadron, we find him
brushing, in ruffling bravado, by a Venetian fleet, stationed off tha
island of Cyprus, and shouting "Viva San Giorgio!" endeavouring
by this old war cry of Genoa topique the jealous pride of the Venetians,
and rouse them to a combat, though an interval of peace existed
between the rival republics.!

These several occurrences have been attributed to Columbus,
through mistake, arising out of similarity of name, but as he often
sailed under the flag of his belligerent relation, it is very possible he
may have been with him on these occasions.

The last dubious trace of Columbus during this obscure part of his
life, is given by his son Fernando, who assigns him a distinguished
share in a naval exploit of Colombo the younger, nephew to the old
Genoese admiral just mentioned, and who appears to have been
brought up in his school and to have inherited his spirit. He was
a famous corsair, says Fernando, so terrible for his deeds against the

• Chaufepie, Supp. to Bayle, V. 2. article, Columbus,
t Bossi, Hist. Colomb. Illust. No. 7.

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 11

infidels, that the Moorish mothers used to frighten their unruly child-
ren with his name.

This bold rover having heard of four Venetian galleys richly
laden, on their return voyage from Flanders, intercepted them with
his squadron on the Portuguese coast, between Lisbon and Cape SS;.
Vincent. A desperate engagement took place ; the vessels grappled
each other, and the crews fought hand to hand, and from ship
to ship. The battle lasted from morning until evening with great
carnage on both sides. The vessel commanded by Columbus was
engaged with a huge Venetian galleY. They threw hand grenades
and other fiery missiles, and the galley was wrapped in flames.
Th6 vessels were fastened together by chains and grappling irons,
and could not be separated ; both were involved in one conflagration,
and soon became a mere blazing mass. The crews threw them-
selves into the sea; Columbus seized an oar, which was floating
within reach, and being an expert swimmer, attained the shore,
though full two leagues distant. It pleased God, says his son
Fernando, to give him strength, that he might preserve him for .
greater things. After recovering from his exhaustion he repaired to ■''
Lisbon, where he found many of his Genoese countrymen, and was
induced to take up his residence.*

Such is the account given by Fernando of his father's first arrival
in Portugal ; and it has been currently adopted by modern historians.
That Columbus may have been in this sea-fight is not impossible;
but it took place many years after this period of his life. It is men-
tioned by several historians as having occurred in the summer of 1485,
which was nearly a year after he had departed from Portugal.
The only way of accounting for the error, without impeaching the
veracity of the historian, is to presume that Fernando may have
confounded some other action, in which his father was concerned,
with this, which he found recorded, without date, by Sabellicus.

Waving, therefore, as somewhat apocryphal, this romantic and
heroical arrival of Columbus on the shores of Portugal, we shall
find, in the great nautical enterprises in which that kingdom was
engaged at the time, ample attractions for a person of his character
and pursuits. For this purpose, however, it is necessary to cast a glance
over certain historical events connected with maritime discovery, which
rendered Lisbon, at that moment, the great resort of men skilled in
geographical and nautical science, from all parts of the world.

Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 5. See Illustrations at the end of this work, article
" Capture of the Venetian Galleys."

12 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book L

CHAPTER III.

PROGRESS OF DISCOVERY UNDER PRINCE HENRY OF
PORTUGAL.

The career of modern discovery had commenced shortly before the
time of Columbus, and the Atlantic coasts of Africa were at that
period the scenes of nautical enterprise. Some have attributed its
origin to an incident said to have occurred in the fourteenth century.
An Englishman of the name of Macham, flying to France with a
lady of whom he was enamoured, was driven far out of sight of land
by stress of weather, and after wandering about the high seas, arrived
at an unknown and uninhabited island, covered with beautiful
forests, which was afterwards called Madeira.* Others have
treated this account as a fable, and have pronounced the Cana-
ries to be the first fruits of modern discovery. This famous group,
the Fortunate islands of the ancients, in which they placed their
Garden of the Hesperides, and from whence Ptolemy commenced
to count the longitude, had been long lost to the world.

There are vague accounts, it is true, of their having received
casual visits at wide intervals during the obscure ages, from the
wandering bark of some Arabian, Norman, or Genoese adventurer,
but all this was involved in uncertainty, and led to no beneficial
result. It was not until the fourteenth century, that they were
effectually rediscovered, and restored to mankind. From that time
they were occasionally visited by the hardy navigators of various
countries. The greatest benefit produced by their discovery was,
that the frequent expeditions made to them emboldened mariners ' to
venture far upon the Atlantic, and familiarized them, in some de-
gree, to its dangers.

The grand impulse to discovery was not given by chance, but was
the deeply meditated effort of one master mind. This was Prince
Henry of Portugal, son of John the first, surnamed the Avenger,
and Philippa of Lancaster, sister of Henry the fourth of England.
The character of this illustrious man, from whose enterprises the
genius of Columbus took excitement, deserves particular mention.

At an early age. Prince Henry accompanied his father into
Africa, in an expedition against the Moors, in which this monarch
planted his victorious banners on the walls of Ceuta. Henry signal

See Illustrations, article, " Discovery of Madeira."

Chap. III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 13

ized himself repeatedly in this campaign. His passion, however,
was more for arts than arms, and he pursued, even amidst the din of
war, those inquiries most worthy of a prince.

While at Ceuta, he received much information from the Moors
concerning the coast of Guinea, and other regions in the interior
of Africa, hitherto unknown to Europeans. He conceived an idea
that important discoveries were to be made, by navigating along the
western coast of Africa, On returning to Portugal, this idea
became his ruling thought. Withdrawing himself from the tumult
of a court, he buried himself in retirement, in a country retreat, in
the Algarves, near to Sagres, in the neighbourhood of Cape St.
Vincent, and in full view of the ocean. Here he drew around him
men eminent in science ; and prosecuted the study of those branches
of knowledge connected with the maritime arts. He was an able
mathematician, and made himself master of all the astronomy
known to the Arabians of Spain.

On studying the works of the ancients. Prince Henry had found
what he considered abundant proofs that Africa was circumnaviga-
ble ; so that it was possible, by keeping along its shores, to arrive at
India. He had been struck with the account given of the voyage
of Eudoxus of Cyzicus, who was said to have sailed from the Red
Sea into the ocean, and to have continued on to Gibraltar ; which
appeared to be corroborated by the expedition of Hanno the Cartha-
ginian, who, sailing from Gibraltar with a fleet of sixty ships, and
following the African coast, was said to have reached the shores of
Arabia.* It is true these voyages had been discredited by several
ancient writers, and the possibility of circumnavigating Africa, after
being for a long time admitted by geographers, had been denied by
Hipparchus, and since his time had continued to be disbelieved. He
considered each sea as shut up and land-bound in its particular
basin, and that Africa was a continent continuing onward to the
south pole, and surrounding the Indian sea, so as to join Asia beyond
the Ganges. This opinion had been adopted and perpetuated by
Ptolemy, whose works, in the time of Prince Henry, were the
highest authority in geography. Still the Prince reverted to the
ancient belief that Africa was circumnavigable, and he found his
opinion sanctioned by various learned men of more modem date.
To settle this question, and to achieve the circumnavigation of
Africa, was an object worthy the ambition of a prince, and his
mind was fired with the idea of the vast benefits that would arise to
his country, should it be accomplished by Portuguese enterprise.

* See Illustrations, article, " Circumnavigation of Africa by the Ancients."

B

14 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book I.

The Italians, or, as they were called in the north of Europe, the
Lombards, had long monopolized the opulent trade of Asia. They
had formed establishments at Constantinople, and in the Black seei,
where they received the rich produce of the spice islands, which lie
near the equator, and the silks, the gums, the perfumes, the precious
stones, and the other luxurious commodities of Egjrpt and Southern
Asia, and distributed them over the whole of Europe. The Repub-
lics of Venice and Genoa rose to power and opulence in conse-
quence of this trade. They had factories in the most remote parts,
even in the frozen regions of Moscovy and Norway, and their
merchants emulated the magnificence of princes. All Europe was
tributary to their commerce. Yet this trade had to be carried on
with the distant countries of the east by the most circuitous and
expensive routes. It passed through various intermediate hands,
and was subjected to the delays and charges of internal navigation,
and the tedious and uncertain journeys of the caravan. For a
long time, the merchandise of India had to be conveyed by the
Gulf of Persia, the Euphrates, the Indus, and the Oxus, to the
Caspian and the Mediterranean seas ; thence to take a new- desti-
nation for the various marts of Europe. After the Soldan of Egypt
had conquered the Arabs, and restored trade to its ancient channel,
it was still attended with great cost and delay. Its precious com
modities had to be conveyed by the Red Sea, thence on the backs
of camels to the banks of the Nile, whence they were transported
to Egypt, to meet the Italian merchants. Thus, while the opulent
traffic of the east was engrossed by these adventurous monopolists,
the price of every article was enhanced by the great expense of
transportation.

It was the grand idea of Prince Henry, by circumnavigating
Africa, to open a direct and easy route to the source of this com-
merce ; to turn it suddenly into a new and simple channel, and to
pour it out in a golden tide upon his country. Henry, however,
was before the age in thought. He had to counteract the igno-
rance and prejudices of mankind: and to endure the delays to
which vivid and penetrating minds are subjected, from the tardy co-
operations of the dull and the doubtful.

The navigation of the Atlantic was yet in its infancy; and,
however some might have ventured a little way upon it, still
mariners looked with distrust upon a boisterous expanse, which
appeared to have no opposite shore. In their voyages they still
kept close to the coast, fearful of venturing out of sight of those
land-marks which guided their timid navigation. Every bold head-
land and far-stretching promontory, was a wall to bar their pro-

Chap. III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. Ij^,

gress. They crept timorously along the Barbary shores, and
thought they had accomplished a wonderful expedition, when they
had ventured a few degrees beyond the straits of Gibraltar. Cape
Non, the termination of ancient enterprise, was long the limit of their
daring; they hesitated to double its rocky point, beaten by winds and
waves, and threatening to thrust them forth upon the raging deep.

Independent of these vague fears, they had others, sanctioned by
philosophy itself. The ancient theory of the Zones was currently
believed. They still thought that the earth, at the equator, was
girdled by a torrid zone, over which the sun held his vertical and
fiery course, separating the hemispheres by a region of impassive
heat. The credulous seamen fancied Cape Bojador the utmost boun-
dary of secure enterprise. They had a superstitious belief that
whoever doubled it would never return.* They looked with dismay
upon the rapid currents of its neighbourhood, and the furious surf
which beats upon its arid coast. They imagined that beyond it lay
the frightful region of the torrid zone, scorched by a blazing sun; a
region of fire, where the very waves, which beat upon the shores,
boiled under the intolerable fervour of the heavens.

To dispel these errors, and to give a scope to navigation, equal to
the grandeur of his designs. Prince Henry called in the aid of sci-
ence. He established a naval college and erected an observatory at
Sagres, and invited thither the most eminent professors of the nauti-
cal faculties; appointing as president James of Mallorca, a man
learned in navigation, and skilful in making charts and instruments.

The effects of this establishment were soon apparent. All that
was known relative to geography and navigation was gathered to-
gether and reduced to system. A vast improvement took place in
maps. The compass was also brought into more general use, espe-
cially among the Portuguese, rendering the mariner more bold and
venturous, by enabling him to navigate in the most gloomy day, and
in the darkest night. Encouraged by these advantages, and stimu-
lated by the munificence of Prince Henry, the Portuguese marine
became signalized for the hardihood of its enterprises, and the extent
of its discoveries. Cape Bojador was doubled; the region of the
tropics penetrated, and divested of its fancied terrors ; the greater
part of the African coiast, from Cape Blanco to Cape de Verd, ex-
plored, and the Cape de Verd and Azore Islands, which lay three
hundred leagues distant from the continent, were rescued from the
oblivious empire of the ocean.

* Mariana. Hist. Esp. Lib. 2, Cap. 22.

16 UFE AND VOYAGES OF [Boox I.

To secure the quiet prosecution and full enjoyment of his disco-
veries, Henry obtained the protection of a papal bull, granting' to
the crown of Portugal sovereign authority over all the lands it
might discover in the Atlantic, to India inclusive, with plenary in-
dulgence to all who should die in these expeditions; at the same
time menacing with the terrors of the church, all who should inter-
fere in these Christian conquests.*

Henry died on the 13th of November, 1473, without accomplish-
ing the great object of his ambition. It was not until many years
afterwards, that Vasco de Gama, pursuing with a Portuguese fleet
the track he had pointed out, realized his anticipations, by doubling
the Cape of Good Hope, sailing along the southern coast of India,
and thus opening a highway for commerce to the opulent regions
of the east. Henry, however, lived long enough to reap some of
the richest rewards of a great and good mind. He beheld, through
his means, his native country in a grand and active career of pros-
perity. The discoveries of the Portuguese were the theme of won-
der and admiration of the fifteenth century; and Portugal, from
being one of the least among nations, suddenly rose to be one of the
most important.

All this was eflfected, not by arms, but by arts; not by the strata-
gems of a cabinet, but by the wisdom of a college. It was the
great achievement of a, prince who has well been described, " full
of thoughts of lofty enterprise and acts of generous spirit." One
who bore for his device the magnanimous motto, '^ The talent to do
good," — the only talent worthy the ambition of princes.f

Henry, at his death, left it in charge to his country to prosecute
the route to India. He had formed companies and associations, by
which commercial zeal was enlisted in the cause, and it was made
a matter of interest and competition to enterprising individuals.!
From time to time, Lisbon was thrown into a tumult of excitement
by the launching forth of some new expedition, or the return of a
squadron with accounts of new tracts explored, and new kingdoms
visited. Every thing was confident promise, and sanguine anticipa-
tion. The miserable hordes of the African coast were magnified
into powerful nations ; and the voyagers continually heard of opu-
lent countries farther on. It was as yet the twilight of geographic
knowledge; imagination went hand in hand with discovery ; and
as the latter groped its slow and cautious way, the former peopled

• Vasconcelos, Hist, de Jiian II.

i Joam de Barros, Asia, Decad. 1.

i Lafitau, CwMjuetes des Portugais, T. K L. 1

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 17

all beyond with wonders. The fame of the Portuguese discoveries,
and of the expeditions continually fitting out, drew the attention of
the world. Strangers from all parts, the learned, the curious, and
the adventurous, resorted to Lisbon to inquire into the particulars or
to participate in the advantages of these enterprises. Among these
was Christopher Columbus, whether thrown there as has been assert-
ed by the fortuitous result of a desperate adventure, or drawn thither
by liberal curiosity, and the pursuit of honourable fortune.*

CHAPTER IV.

RESIDENCE OF COLUMBUS AT LISBON IDEAS CONCERNING ISLANDS

IN THE OCEAN.

Columbus arrived at Lisbon about the year 1470. He was at
that time in the full vigour of manhood, and of an engaging pre-
sence. Minute descriptions are given of his person by his son Fer-
nando, by Las Casas, and others of his contemporaries.! According
to these accounts he was tall, well formed, muscular, and of an ele-
vated and dignified demeanour. His visage was long, and neither
full nor meagre; his complexion fair and freckled, and inclined to
ruddy; his nose aquiline; his cheek bones were rather high; his
eyes light grey, and apt to enkindle ; his whole countenance had an
air of authority. His hair, in his youthful days, was of a light
colour ; but care and trouble, according to Las Casas, soon turned it
grey, and at thirty years of age it was quite white. He was mode-
rate and simple in diet and apparel, eloquent in discourse, engaging
and affable with strangers, and of an amiableness and suavity jn do-
mestic life that strongly attached his household to his person. His
temper was naturally irritable, J but he subdued it by the magna-
nimity of his spirit ; comporting himself with a courteous and gentle
gravity, and never indulging in any intemperance of language.
Throughout his life he was noted for a strict attention to the oflices
of religion, observing rigorously the fasts and ceremonies of the
church ; nor did his piety consist in mere forms ; but partook of that

* Herrera, Decad. 1, lib.l.

t Hist, del Almirante, Cap, 3. Las Cas?is, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 2. MS.
t Illescas, Hist. Pontifical, L. 6. t> o

Vol. I. 2 ^ ^

V9 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book I.

lofty and solemn enthusiasm with which his whole character wa»

strongly tinctured.

While at Lisbon, he was accustomed to attend religious service at
the chapel of the convent of All Saints. In this convent there were
certain ladies of rank, either resident as boarders or in some religious
capacity. With one of these. Dona Felipa Monis de Perestrello^
Columbus became acquainted. She was the daughter of Bartolomeo
Mollis de Perestrello, an Italian cavalier, who had been one of the
most distinguished navigators under Prince Henry, and had colo-
nized and governed the island of Porto Santo.* The acquaintance
soon ripened into strong attachment, and ended in marriage. It
appears to have been a match of mere affection, as the lady was des-
titute of fortune.

This union fixed Columbus in Lisbon. The father of his wife
being dead, the newly married couple went to reside with the
mother. The latter, perceiving the interest which her son-in-law
took in all matters concerning the sea, related to him all she knew
of the voyages and expeditions of her late husband, and brought him
all his papers, charts, journals and memorandums. These were
treasures to Columbus. He acquainted himself with all the routes
of the Portuguese, their plans and conceptions; and having, by his
marriage and residence, become naturalized in Portugal, he sailed
occasionally in the expeditions to the coast of Guinea. When on
shore, his time was occupied in making maps and charts, for the
support of his family. His circumstances were limited, and he had
to observe a strict economy; yet we are told that he appropriated a
part of his scanty means to the succour of his aged father at Genoa,!
and to the education of his younger brothers.^

The construction of a correct map or chart, in those days, required
a degree of knowledge and experience sufficient to entitle the
possessor to distinction. Geography was but just emerging from the
darkness which had enveloped it for ages. Ptolemy was still a
standard authority. The maps of the fifteenth century display a
mixture of truth and error, in which facts handed down from an-
tiquity, and others revealed by recent discoveries, are confused with
popular fables and extravagant conjectures. At such a period, when
the passion for maritime discovery was seeking every aid to facilitate
its enterprises, the knowledge and skill of an able cosmographer, like
Columbus, would be properly appreciated, and the superior correct-

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 5. Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C 4^
t Oviedo, Cronica de las Indias, L. 2, C. 2.
t Munoz Hist, del N. Mundo, L. 2.

Chap. IV.] (JEOIISTOPHER COLUMBUS. Ift

ness of his maps and charts, would give him notoriety among men of
science*. We accordingly find him, at an early period of his resi-
dence in Lisbon, in correspondence with Paulo Toscanelli of Florence,
one of the most scientific men of the day, whose communications
had great influence in inspiriting him to his subsequent under-
takings.

While his geographical labours thus elevated him to a communion
with the learned, they were peculiarly calculated to foster a train ol
thought favourable to nautical enterprise. From constantly com-
paring maps and charts, and noting the progress and direction of
discovery, he was led to perceive how much of the world remained
yet unknown, and to meditate on the means of exploring it. His
domestic concerns, and the connexions he had formed by marriage,
were all in unison with this vein of speculation. He resided for some
time at the recently discovered island of Porto Santo, where his wife
had inherited some property; and during his residence there she bore
him a son, whom he named Diego. This residence brought him as
it were on the very frontiers of discovery. His wife's sister was
married to Pedro Correo, a navigator of note, who had at one time
been Governor of Porto Santo. Being frequently together in the
familiar intercourse of domestic life, their conversation naturally
turned upon the discoveries prosecuting in their vicinity along the
African coast; upon the long sought for route to India; and upon
the possibility of some unknown lands existing in the west.

In their island residence too, they must have been frequently visited
by the voyagers going to and from Guinea. Living thus surrounded
by the stir and bustle of discovery, communing with persons who
had risen by it to fortune and honour, and voyaging in the very
tracks of its recent triumphs, the ardent mind of Columbus kindled
up to enthusiasm in the cause. It was a period of general excite-
ment to all who were connected with maritime life, or who resided

* The importance which began to be attached to cosmographical knowledge, is
evident from the distinction which Mauro, an Italian Friar, obtamed, from having
projected an universal map, esteemed the most accurate of the time. A fac simile
of this Map, upon the same scale as the original, is now deposited in the British
Museum, and it has been published, with a geographical commentary, by the
learned Zurla. The Venetians struck a medal in honour of him, on which they
denominated him Cosmographus incomparabilis, (CoUine dell Bussol. Naut. P. 2,
c. 5.) Yet Ramusio, who had seen this map in the Monastery of Santo Michele de
Murano, considers it merely an improved copy of a map brought from Cathay by
Marco Polo (Ramusio 7, 2. p. 17, ed. Venet. 1606.) We are told also that
Americus Vespucius paid one hundred and thirty ducats, equivalent to 555 dollars
in our time, for a map of sea and land, made at Mallorca, in 1439, by Gabriel de
Valseca. (Barros, D. 1, L. 1, C. 15.) Derroto por Tofino Introd. p. 25.

20 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF "^ [Book I.

in the vicinity of the ocean. The recent discoveries had inflamed
their imaginations, and had filled them with visions of other islands,
of greater wealth and beauty, yet to be discovered in the boundless
wastes of the Atlantic. The opinions and fancies of the ancients on
the subject, were again put into circulation. The story of Antilla, a
great island in the ocean discovered by the Carthaginians, was fre-
quently cited; and Plato's imaginary Atalantis once more found firm
believers. Many thought that the Canaries and Azores were but
wrecks which had survived its submersion, and that other and larger
tracts of that drowned land might yet exist, in remoter parts of the
Atlantic.

One of the strongest symptoms of the excited state of the popular
mind at this eventful era, was the prevalence of rumours respecting
unknown islands casually seen in the ocean. Many of these were
mere fables, fabricated to feed the predominant humour of the public;
many had their origin in the self-deception of voyagers, whose heated
imaginations beheld islands in those summer clouds which lie along
the horizon, and often beguile the sailor with the idea of distant
land. On such airy basis most probably was founded the story told
to Columbus by one Antonio Leone, an inhabitant of Madeira, that
sailing westward one hundred leagues from thence, he had seen
three islands at a distance. But the tales of the kind most positively
advanced and zealously maintained, were those related by the peo-
ple of the Canaries, who were long under a singular optical delu-
sion. They imagined that, from time to time, they beheld a vast
island to the westward, with lofty mountains and deep valleys.
Nor was it seen in cloudy and dubious weather, but in those clear
days common to tropical climates, and with all the distinctness with
which distant objects may be discerned, in their pure, transparent
atmosphere. The island it is true was only seen at intervals, while
at other times, and in the clearest weather, not a vestige of it was to
be descried. When it did appear, however, it was always in the
same place and uflder the same form. So persuaded were the
inhabitants of the Canaries of its reality, that application was made
to the king of Portugal for permission to discover and take possession
of it; and it actually became the object of various expeditions. The
island, however, was never to be found, though it still continued
occasionally to cheat the eye.

There were all kinds of wild and fantastic notions concerning this
imaginary land. Some supposed it to be the Antilla mentioned by
Aristotle; others the island of Sevei^ Cities, so called from an ancient
legend of seveji bishops, who with a multitude of followers fled from

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 21

Spain at the time of its conquest by the Moors, and, ^ided by
heaven to some unknown island in the ocean, founded on it seven
splendid cities; while some considered it another legendary island,
on which it was said a Scottish priest of the name of St. Brandan
had landed in the sixth century. This last leg-end passed into current
Delief The fancied island was called by the name of St. Brandan
or St. Borondon, and long continued to be actually laid down m
maps far to the west of the Canaries.* The same was done with the
fabulous island of Antilla; and these erroneous maps and phantom
islands have given rise, at various times, to assertions that the new
world had been known prior to the period of its generally reputed
discovery.

Columbus, however, considers all these appearances of land as
mere illusions. He supposes that they may have been caused by
rocks lying in the ocean, which, seen at a distance, under certain
atmospherical influences, may have assumed the appearance of
islands; or that they may have been floating islands, such as are
mentioned by Pliny and Seneca and others, formed of twisted roots,
or of light and porous stone, and covered with trees, and which may
have been driven about the ocean by the winds.

The islands of St. Brandan, of Antilla, and of the Seven Cities,
have long since proved to be fabulous tales or atmospherical delusions*
yet the rumours concerning them derive interest from showing the
state of public thought with respect to the Atlantic, while its western
regions were yet unknown. They were all noted down with curious
care by Columbus, and may have had some influence over his ima-
gination; still, though of a visionary spirit, his penetrating genius
sought in deeper sources for the aliment of its meditations. Aroused
by the impulse of passing events, he turned anew, says his son
Fernando, to study the geographical authors which he had read
before, and to consider the astronomical reasons which might
corroborate the theory gradually forming in his mind. He made
himself acquainted with all that had been written by the ancients, or
discovered by the moderns, relative to geography. His own voyages
enabled him to correct many of their errors, and appreciate many of
their theories. His genius having thus taken its decided beilt, it is
interesting to notice from what a mass of acknowledged facts,
rational hypotheses, fanciful narratives, and popular rumours, his
grand project of discovery was wrought out by the strong workings
of his vigorous mind.

See Illustrations, article, "Island of St Brandau.**

Sm LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book I.

CHAPTER V.

GROUNDS ON WHICH COLUMBUS FOUNDED HIS BELIEF OF THE
EXISTENCE OF UNDISCOVERED LANDS IN THE WEST.

It has been attempted, in the preceding chapters, to show how
Columbus was gradually kindled up to his grand design by the spirit
and events of the times in which he lived. His son Fernando, how-
ever, undertakes to furnish the precise data on which his father's
plan of discovery was founded. He does this, he observes, "to show
from what slender argument so great a scheme was fabricated and
brought to light, and for the purpose of satisfying those who may
desire to know distinctly the circumstances and motives which led
his father to undertake this enterprise."

As this statement was formed from notes and documents found
among his father's papers, it is too curious and. interesting not to
deserve particular mention. In this memorandum he arranged the
foundation of his father's theory under three heads. 1. The nature
of things. 2. The authority of learned writers. 3. The reports of
navigators.

Under the first head he set down, as a fundamental and established
principle, that the earth was a terraqueous sphere or globe, which
might be travelled round jrom east to west, and that men stood foot
to foot when on opposite points. The circumference from east to
west, at the equator, Columbus divided according to Ptolemy, into
twenty-four hours, of fifteen degrees each, making three hundred and
sixty degrees. Of these he imagined, comparing the globe of Ptolemy
with the earlier map of Marinus of Tyre, that fifteen hours had been
known to the ancients, extending from the Straits of Gibraltar, or
rather from the Canary islands, to the city of Thinse in Asia, a place
set down as at the eastern limits of the known world. The Portu-
guese had advanced the western frontier by the discovery of the
Azores and Cape de Verd islands, equal to one hour more. There
remained, according to the estimation of Columbus, eight hours, or
one third of the circumference of the earth, unknown and unexplored.
This space might, in a great measure, be filled up by the eastern
regions of Asia, which might extend so far as nearly to surround the
globe, and to approach the western shores of Europe and Africa.
The tract of ocean intervening between these continents, he observes,

Chap. v.] ^CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 23

would be less than might at first be supposed, if the opinion of Alfra-
ganus the Arabian were admitted, who gave to the earth a smaller
circumference, by diminishing the size of the degrees, than did other
cosmographers; a theory to which Columbus seems at times to have
given. faith. Granting these premises, it was manifest that by
pursuing a direct course, from east to west, a navigator would arrive
at the extremitj'- of Asia, and discover any intervening land.

Under the second head are named the authors whose writings had
weight in convincing him that the intervening space of ocean could
be but moderate, and easy to be traversed. Among these he cites
the opinions of Aristotle, Seneca and Pliny, that one might pass
from Cadiz to the Indias in a few days. Of Strabo also, who
observes that the ocean surrounds the earth, bathing on the east the
shores of India, on the west the coasts of Spain and Mauritania; so
that it is easy to navigate from one' to the other on the same parallel.*

In corroboration of the idea that Asia, or as he always terms it,
India, stretched far to the east, so as to occupy the greater part of the
unexplored space, the narratives are cited of Marco Polo and John
Mandeville. These travellers had visited, in the thirteenth and four-
teenth centuries, the remote parts of Asia, far beyond the regions laid
down by Ptolemy, and their accounts of the extent of that continent
to the eastward, had a great effect in convincing Cohimbus, that a
moderate voyage to the west would bring him to its shores, or to the
extensive and wealthy islands which lie adjacent. The information
concerning Marco Polo is probably derived from Paulo Toscanelli, a
celebrated Doctor of Florence, already mentioned, with whom Co-
lumbus corresponded in 1474, and who transmitted to him a copy of
a letter, which he had previously written to Fernando Martinez, a
learned canon of Lisbon. This letter maintains the facility of ar-
riving at India by a western course, asserting the distance to be but
four thousand miles, in a direct line from Lisbon to tlie province of
Mangi near Cathay, since determined to be the northern coast of
China. Of this country he gives a magnificent description, drawn
from the work of Marco Polo. He adds, that in the route lay the
islands of Antilla and Cipango, distant from each other only two
hundred and twenty-five leagues, abounding in riches, and offering
convenient places for ships to touch at, and obtain supplies, on the
voyage.

Under the third head are enumerated various indications of land
in the west, which had floated to the shores of the known world.

It is curious to observe, how, when once the mind of Columbus had

** Strab. Cos. lib. 1, 2.

84 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP ^ [Book I.

become heated in the inquiry, it attracted to it every corroborating
circumstance, however vague and trivial. He appears to have been
particularly attentive to the gleams of information derived from veteran
mariners, who had been employed in recent voyages to the African
coast; and also from the inhabitants of lately discovered islands, placed
m a manner on the frontier posts of geographical knowledge. All
these are carefully noted down among his memorandums, to be col-
located with the facts and opinions already stored up in his mind.

Such, for instance, is the circumstance related to him by Martin
Vicenti, a pilot in the service of the king of Portugal; that after
sailing four hundred and fifty leagues to the west of Cape St. Vin-
cent, he had taken from the water a piece of carved wood, which
evidently had not been laboured with an iron instrument. As the
winds had drifted it from the west, it might have come from some
unknown land in that direction.

Pedro Correa, brother-in-law of Columbus, is likewise cited, as
havmg seen on the island of Porto Santo a similar piece of wood,
which had drifted from the same quarter. He had heard also from
the king of Portugal, that reeds of an immense size had floated to
some of those islands from the west, in the description of which Co-
lumbus thought he recognized the immense reeds, said bv Ptolemy to
grow in India,

Information is likewise noted, given him by the inhabitants of the
Azores, of trunks of huge pine trees, of a kind that did not grow
upon any of those islands, wafted to their shores by the westerly
winds; but especially of the bodies of two dead men, cast upon the
island of Flores, whose features diflfered from those of any known
race of people.

To these is added the report of a mariner of Port St. Mary, who
asserted that in the course of a voyage to Ireland, he hatd seen land
to the west, which the ship's company took for some extreme part of
Tartary. Other stories of a similar kind are no^ed, as well as rumors
concerning the fancied Islands of St. Brandan,and of the Seven Cities,
to which last, as has been already observed, Columbus have but little
faith.

Such is an abstract of the grounds on which, according to Fer-
nando, his father proceeded from one position to another, until he
came to the conclusion that there was undiscovered land in the west-
ern part of the ocean; that it was attainable; that it was fertile; and
finally that it was inhabited.

It is evident that several of the facts herein enumerated, must
have become known to Columbus after he had formed his opinion, and

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 25

merely served to strengthen it; still every thing that throws any light
upon the progress of thought which led to so great an event, is of
the highest interest; and the chain of deductions here furnished, though
not perhaps the most logical in its concatenation, yet, being extract-
ed from the papers of Columbus himself, remains one of the most
interesting documents in tlib history of the human niind.

On considering this statement attentively, it is apparent that the
grand argument which.'^mduced Columbus to his enterprise, was that
placed under the first head ; namely, that the most eastern part of
Asia known to the ancients could not be separated from the Azores
by more than a third of the circumference of the globe; that the
intervening space must, in a great measure, be filled up by the un-
known residue of Asia, and that if the circumference of the world
was, as he believed, less than was generally supposed, the Asiatic
shores could easily be attained by a moderate voyage to the west.

It is singular how much the success of this great undertaking
depended upon two happy errors, the imaginary extent of Asia to the
east, and the supposed smallness of the earth; both errors of the
most learned and profound philosophers, but without which Colum-
bus would hardly have ventured upon his enterprise. As to the idea
of finding land by sailing directly to the west, it is at present so fa-
miliar to our minds as in some measure to diminish the merits of the
first conception, and the hardihood of the first attempt; but in those
days, as has well been observed, the circumference of the earth was
yet unknown; no one could tell whether the ocean were not of im-
mense extent, impossible to be traversed; nor were the laws of specific
gravity and of central gravitation ascertained, by which, granting
the rotundity of the earth, the possibility of making the tour of it
would be manifest.* The practicability, therefore, of finding land
by sailing to the west, was one of those mysteries of nature which
are considered incredible while matters of mere speculation, but the
simplest things imaginable when they have once been ascertained.

When Columbus had formed his theory, it became fixed in his
mind with singular firmness, and influenced his entire character and
conduct. He never spoke in doubt or hesitation, but with as much
certainty as if his eyes had beheld the promised land. No trial or
disappointment could divert him from the steady pursuit of his object.
A deep religious sentiment mingled with his meditations, and gave
them at times a tinge of superstition, but it was of a sublime and
lofty kind: he looked upon himself as standing in the hand of heaven,

* Malte-Brun, Geographic Universelle, T. 14. Note sur la d^couverte de 1
Amerique. ^

^' LIFE AND VOYAGES OB*

[Book i.

//

{

/

)

chosen from among men for the accompUshment of its high purpose;
he read, as he supposed, his contemplated discovery foretold in Holy
Writ, and shadowed forth darkly in the mystic revelations of the
prophets. The ends of the earth were to be brought together, and
all nations and tongues and languages united under the banners of
the Redeemer. This was to be the triumphant consummation of his
enterprise, bringing the remote and unknown regions of the earth
into communion with Christian Europe; carrying the light of the
true faith into benighted and pagan lands, and gathering their count-
less nations under the holy dominion of the church.

The enthusiastic nature of his conceptions gave an elevation to
his spirit, and a dignity and loftiness to his whole demeanour. He
conferred with sovereigns almost with a feeling of equality. His
views were princely and unbounded; his proposed discovery was of
empires; his conditions were proportionally magnificent; nor would
he ever, even after long delays, repeated disappointments, and under
the pressure of actual penury, abate what appeared to be extravagant
demands for a mere possible discovery.

Those who could not conceive how an ardent and comprehensive
genius could arrive by presumptive evidence at so firm a conviction,
sought for other modes of accounting for it. When the glorious
result had established the correctness of the opinion of Columbus,
attempts were made to prove that he had previous information of the
lands which he pretended to discover. Among these was an idle
tale of a tempest-tost pilot, said to have died in his house, bequeath-
ing him written accounts of an unknown land in the west, upon
which he had been driven by adverse winds. This story, according
to Fernando Columbus, had no other foundation than one of the
popular tales about the shadowy island of St. Brandan, which a
Portuguese captain, returning from Guinea, fancied he had beheld
beyond Madeira. It circulated for a time in idle rumour, altered and
shaped to suit their purpose, by such as sought to tarnish the glory
of Columbus. At length it found its way into print, and has been
echoed by various historians, varying with every narration, and full
of contradictions and improbabilities.*

An assertion has also been made, that Columbus was preceded in
his discoveries by Martin Behem, a contemporary cosmographer,
who, it was said, had landed accidentally on the coast of South
America, in the course of an African expedition, and that it was
with the assistance of a map or globe projected by Behem, on which

* See Illustrations, article, " Rumour concerning the Pilot who died in the house

of Columbus."

(

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 2T

was laid down the newly discovered country, that Columbus made
his voyage. This rumour originated in an absurd misconstruction
of a Latin manuscript, and was unsupported by any documents ; yet
it has had its circulation, and has even been revived not many years
since, with more zeal than discretion; but is now completely refuted
and put to rest. The land Behem visited was the coast of Africa
beyond the equator; the globe he projected was finished in 1492,
while Columbus was absent on his first voyage. It contains no
trace of the New World, and thus furnishes conclusive proof that its
existence was yet unknown to Behem.*

There is a certain meddlesome spirit, which, in the garb of learned
research, goes prying about the traces of history, casting down its
monuments, and marring and mutilating its fairest trophies. Care
should be taken to vindicate great names from such pernicious
erudition. It defeats one of the most salutary purposes of history — -
that of furnishing examples of what human genius and laudable
enterprise may accomplisL For this purpose, some pains have been
taken in the preceding chapters, to trace the rise and progress of this
grand idea in the mind of Columbus; to show that it was the concep-
tion of his genius, quickened by the impulse of the age, and aided by
those scattered gleams of knowledge which fell ineffectually upon
ordinary minds.

CHAPTER VL

CORRESPONDENCE OF COLUMBUS WITH PAULO TOSCANELLL
EVENTS IN PORTUGAL RELATIVE TO DISCOVERIES.

What time Columbus first conceived the design of seeking a
western route to India, it is impossible to determine ; it is certain,
nowever, that he meditated it as early as the year 1474, though as
yet it lay crude and unmatured in his mind. This fact, which is of
some importance, is sufficiently established by the correspondence
already mentioned with the learned Paulo Toscanelli, of Florence,
which took place in the summer of that year. The letter of Tosca-
nelli is in reply to one from Columbus, and applauds the design

* See Illustrations, article, " Behem."

^ LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book I.

which he had expressed of making a voyage to the west. To de-
monstrate more clearly the facility of arriving- at India in that direc-
tion, he sent him a map, projected partly according to Ptolemy,
and partly according to the descriptions of Marco Polo, the Venetian.
The eastern coast of Asia was depicted in front of the western coasts
of Africa and Europe, with a moderate space of ocean be: ween them,
in which were placed at convenient distances, Cipango, Antilla, and
the other islands.* Columbus was greatly animated by the letter
and chart of Toscanelli, who was considered one of the ablest cos-
mographers of the day. He appears to have procured the work of
Marco Polo, which had been translated into various languages, and
existed m manuscript in most libraries. This author gives mar-
vellous accounts of the riches of the realms of Cathay and Mangi,
(or Mangu) since ascertained to be northern and southern China, on

*the coast of which, according to the map of Toscanelli, a voyager
sailing directly west, would be sure to arrive. He describes in un-
measured terms the power and grandeur of the sovereign of these
countries, the great Khan of Tartary ; and the splendour and mag-
nitude of his capitals of Cambalu and Quinsai ; and the wonders of
the island of Cipango, or Zipangri, supposed to be Japan. This
island he places opposite Cathay, five hundred leagues in the ocean.
He represents it as abounding in gold, precious stones, and other
choice objects of commerce, with a monarch whose palace was co-
vered with plates of gold, as in other countries palaces are covered
with lead. The narrations of this traveller were l:)y many considere({
fabulous; but though they are full of what appear to be splendid
exaggerations, they have since been found to be substantially cor-
rect. They are thus particularly noted, from the influence they ha<l
over the imagination of Columbus. The work of Marco Polo is a
key to many parts of his history. In his applications to the various
courts, he represented the countries he expected to discover, as those
regions of inexhaustible wea,lth which the Venetian had described.
The territories of the Grand Khan were the objects of research in all
his voyages; and in his cruisings among the Antilles, he was con-

" tinually flattering himself with the hopes of arriving at the opulent
island of Cipango, and the coasts of Mangi and Cathay, f

• This map, by which Columbus sailed on his first voyage of discoTery, Las
Caseis (Lib. 1, Cap. 12) says he had in his possession at tlie time of writing his
history. It is greatly to be regretted that so interesting a document should be
lost : it may yet exist amidst the chaotic lumber of some of the Spanish archives.
Few documents, of mere curiosity, would be more precious.

t A more particular account of Marco Polo and his writings is given amoBg
the Illustrations.

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. ^ 39

While the design of attempting the discovery in the west was
maturing in the mind of Colurnbus, he made a voyage to the north
of Europe. Of this we have no other memorial than the following
passage, extracted by his son from one of his letters. '■ In the year
1477, in February, I navigated one hundred leagues beyond Thule,
the southern part of which is seventy-three degrees distant from the
Equator, and not sixty-three, as some pretend ; neither is it situated
within the line which includes the west of Ptolemy, but is much
more westerly. The English, principally those of Bristol, go with
their merchandize to this island, which is as large as England.
When I was there the sea was not frozen, and the tides were so great
as to rise and fall twenty-six fathom."*

The island thus mentioned as Thule, is generally supposed to
have been Iceland, which is far to the west of the Ultima Thule of
the ancients, as laid down on the map of Ptolemy. Nothing more
is known of this voyage, in which we discover indications of his ar-
dent and impatient desire to break away from the limits of the old
world, and launch into the unknown regions of the ocean.

Several more years elapsed, without any decided effort on the part
of Columbus to carry his design into execution. He was too poor
to fit out the armament necessary for so important an expedition.
Indeed, as he expected to find vast and heathen countries, unsubject-
ed to any lav/ful power, he considered it an enterprise only to be
undertaken in the employ of some sovereign state, which could as-
sume dominion over the territories he might discover, and reward
him with dignities and privileges commensurate to his services.

During the latter part of the reign of Alphonso of Portugal, there
was too little ardour in the cause of discovery, to make it probable
that a proposition of the kind would be accepted. The monarch
was too much engrossed with the wars with Spain, for the succes-
sion of the Princess Juana to the crown of Castile, to engage in
peaceful enterprises of an expensive nature. The public mind, also,
was not prepared for so perilous an undertaking. Notwithstandr
ing the many voyages which had been made to the coast of Africa,
and the adjacent islands, and that the compass had been introduced
into more general use, navigation was still shackled with impedi-
ments, and the mariner rarely ventured far out of sight of land. Dis-
covery advanced slowly along the coasts of Africa, and the mariners
feared to cruise far into the southern hemisphere, with the stars of
which they were totally unacquainted. To such men the project of

• Hist, del Almirante, C. 4. q n

3d: LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book L

a, voyage directly westward, into the midst of that boundless waste,
to seek some visionary land, appeared as extravagant, as it would at
the present day, to launch forth in a balloon into the regions of
space, in quest of some distant star.

The time, however, was at hand that was to extend the powers of
navigation. The era was propitious to the quick advancement of
knowledge. The recent invention of the art of printing enabled
men to communicate rapidly and extensively their ideas and disco-
veries. It drew forth learning from libraries and convents, and
brought it familiarly to the reading desk of the student. Tracts of
information, which before had existed- only in costly manuscripts,
carefully treasured up, and kept out of the reach of the indigent
scholar, and obscure artist, were now in every hand. There was
thenceforth to be no retrogression in knowledge, nor any pause in
its career. Every step in advance was immediately, and simulta-
neously, and widely promulgated, recorded in a thousand forms, and
fixed for ever. There could never again be a dark age ; nations
might shut their eyes to the light, and sit in wilful darkness, but
they could not trample it out ; it would still shine on, dispensed to
iiappier parts of the world, by the diffusive powers of the press.

At this juncture, a monarch ascended the throne of Portugal, of
different ambition from Alphonso. John II. had imbibed the passion
for discovery from his grand uncle, Prince Henry, and with his reign
all its activity revived. His first care was to build a fort at St.
George de la Mina, on the coast of Guinea, to protect the trade car-
ried on in that neighbourhood for gold-dust, ivory and slaves.

The African discoveries had conferred great glory upon Portugal,
but as yet they had produced more expense than profit. The ac-
complishment of the route to India, however, it was expected would
repay all their cost and toil, and open a source of incalculable wealth
to the nation The project of Prince Henry, which had now been
tardily prosecuted for half a century, had excited an eager curiosity
about the remote parts of Asia, and had revived all the accounts,
true and fabulous, of travellers.

Beside the renowned work of Marco Polo, already mentioned,
there was the narrative of Rabbi Benjamin ben Jonah, of Tudela, a
celebrated Spanish Jew, who had set out from Saragossa in 1173,
to visit the scattered remnants of the Hebrew tribes, wherever
dispersed qver the face of the earth. Wandering with unwearied
zeal, on this pious errand, over most parts of the known world, he
penetrated into China, and passed from thence into the southern

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 81

islands of Asia.* There were also the narratives of Carpini and
Ascelin, two friars despatched, the one in 1246, the other in 1247, by
Pope Innocent IV. as apostolic ambassadors, for the purpose of con-
verting the Grand Khan of Tartary ; and the journal of William
Rubruquis, (or Ruysbrook, ) a celebrated cordelier, sent on a similar
errand in 1253, by Lewis IX. of France, then on his unfortunate
crusade into Palestine. These pious but chimerical missions had
proved abortive; but the curious narrations of them which remained,
when thus revived in the fifteenth century, served to inflame the
public curiosity respecting the remote parts of Asia.

In these narrations we first find mention made of the renowned
Prester John, an imaginary Christian king, said to hold sway in a
remote part of the east; who was long an object of curiosity and
research, but whose kingdom seemed to shift its situation in the tale
of every traveller, and to vanish from the search, as effectually as the
unsubstantial island of St. Brandan. All the fables and dreamy
speculations concerning this shadowy potentate, and his oriental
realm, were again put in circulation. It was fancied that traces of
his empire were discovered in the interior of Africa, to the east of
Benin, where there was a powerful prince, who used a cross among
his insignia of royalty. John II. partook largely of the popular
excitement produced by these narrations. In the early part of his
reign he actually sent visionary missions in quest of the visionary
Prester John, to visit whose dominions became the romantic desire of
many a religious enthusiast. The magnificent idea he had formed
of the remote parts of the east, made him extremely anxious that the
splendid project of Prince Henry should be realized, and that th©
Portuguese flag should penetrate to the Indian seas. Impatient of
the slowness with which his discoverers advanced along the coast of
Africa, and of the impediments which every cape and promontory
presented to nautical enterprise, he called in the aid of science, to
devise some means by which greater scope and certainty might be
given to navigation. His two physicians, Roderigo and Joseph, the
latter a Jew, the most able astronomers and cosmographers of lys
kingdom, together with the celebrated Martin Behem, entered into
a learned consultation on the subject. The result of their conferences
and labours was the application of the astrolabe to navigation,
enabling the seaman, by the altitude of the sun, to ascertain his dis

* Bergeron, Voyages en Asie, Tom. 1. The work of Benjamin of Tudela,
originally written in Hebrew, was so much an repute, that the translation went
through at least sixteen editions. Andres Hist. B. Let. L. .3. C. 6.

3t: LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book I.

tance from the equator.* This instrument has since been improved
and modified into the modern quadrant, of which, even at its first
introduction, it possessed all the essential advantages.

It is impossible to describe the eflfect produced upon navigation by
this invention. It cast it loose at once from its long bondage to the
land, and set it free to rove the deep. Science had thus prepared
guides for discovery across the trackless ocean. Instead of coasting
the shores like the ancient navigator, and, when driven from the land,
groping his way back, in doubt and apprehension, by the uncertain
guidance of the stars, the modern mariner might adventure boldly
into unknown seas, confident of being able to retrace his course, by
means of the compass and the astrolabe, should he find no distant
port.

CHAPTER VII.

PROPOSITIONS OF COLUMBUS TO THE COURT OF PORTUGAL.

The application of the astrolabe to navigation was one of those
timely events, which seem to have something providential in them.
It was the one thing wanting to facilitate an intercourse across the
deep, and it divested the enterprise of Columbus of that hazardous
character which was so great an obstacle to its accomplishment. It
was immediately after this event that he proposed his voyage of
discovery to the crown of Portugal.

This is his first proposition of which we have any clear and
indisputable record, although it has been strongly asserted that he
made one at an earlier period to his native country, Genoa. The
court of Portugal had shown extraordinary liberality in rewarding
nautical enterprise. Most of those who had made discoveries in her
service had been appointed to the government of the islands and
countries which they had discovered, although many of them were
foreigners by birth. Encouraged by this liberality, and by the
anxiety evinced by king John II. to accomplish a passage by sea to
India, Columbus obtained an audience of that monarch. He pro-
posed, in case the king would f'lrnish him with ships and men, to

• Barros, Asia, Decad. 1. L. 4, C. 2. Maffei, Lib. 1, p. 6, 7.

Chap. VH.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 33

'.mdertake a shorter and more direct route to India, than that which
they were seeking'. His plan was to strike directly to the west,
across the Atlantic. He then unfolded his hypothesis with respect
to the extent of Asia, describing also the immense riches of the island
of Cipango, the first land at which he expected to arrive. Of this
audience we have two accounts, written in somewhat of an opposite
spirit; one by his son Fernando, the other by Joam de Barros, the
Portuguese historiographer. It is curious to notice the different
views taken of the same transaction by the enthusiastic son, and by
the cool, perhaps prejudiced, historian.

The king, according to Fernando, listened to his father with great
attention, but was discouraged from engaging in any new scheme
of the kind, by the cost and trouble already sustained in exploring-
the route by the African coast, which as yet remained unaccom-
plished. His father, however, supported his proposition by such
excellent reasons, that the king was induced to give his consent.
The only difficulty that remained was the terms; for Columbus,
being a man of lofty and noble sentiments, demanded high and
honourable titles and rewards; to the end, says Fernando, that he
might leave behind him a name and family worthy of his deeds and
merits.*

Barros, on the other hand, attributes the seeming acquiescence of
the king, merely to the importunities of Columbus. He considered
him, says the historian, a vainglorious man, fond of displaying his
abilities, and given to fantastic fancies, such as that respecting the
island of Cipango. f But in fact, this idea of Columbus being vain,
was taken up by the Portuguese writers in after years; and as to the
island of Cipango, it was far from being considered chimerical by
the king, who, as has been shown by his mission in search of Prester
John, was a ready believer in these travellers' tales concerning' the
cast. The reasoning of Columbus must have produced an effect on
the mind of the monarch, since it is certain that he referred the pro-
position to a learned junto, charged with all matters relating to mari-
time discovery.

This junto was composed of two able cosmographers, masters
Roderigo and Joseph, and the king's confessor Diego Ortiz de Ca^
zadilla, Bishop of Ceuta, a man greatly reputed for his learning, a
Castilian by birth, and generally called Cazadilla, from the name of
his native place. This scientific body treated the project as extra-
vagant and visionary.

• Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 10.
t Barros, Asia, Decad. 1. L. 3, C. 2.

Vol, I 3

84 LIFE AND VOYAGES "OF [Book L

Still the king does not appear to have been satisfied. According
to his historian Vasconcelos,* he convoked his council, composed of
the prelates and persons of the greatest learning in the kingdom, and
Eisked their advice, whether to adopt this new route of discovery, or
to pursue that which they had already opened? The proposition of
Columbus was generally condemned by the council, and in fact a
spirit seemed to be awakening among them hostile to all discovery.

It may not be deemed superfluous to notice briefly the discussion of
the council on this great question. Vasconcelos reports a speech of
the Bishop of Ceuta, in which he not only objected to the proposed
enterprise, as destitute of reason, but even discountenanced any fur-
ther prosecution of the African discoveries. "They tended," he said,
"to distract the attention, drain the resources, and divide the power of
the nation; already too much weakened by recent war and pestilence.
While their forces were thus scattered abr6ad on remote and un-
profitable expeditions, they exposed themselves to attack from their
active enemy, the king of Castile. The greatness of monarchs," he
observed, "did not arise so much from the extent of their dominions,
as from the wisdom and ability with which they governed. Tn the
Portuguese nation, it would be madness to launch into enterprises
without first considering them in connexion with its means. The
king had already sufficient undertakings in hand of certain advan-
tage, without engaging in others of a wild, chimerical nature. If
he wished employment for the active valour of the nation, the war in
which he was engaged against the Moors of Barbary was sufficient,
wherein his triumphs were of solid advantage, tending to cripple and
enfeeble those neighbouring foes, who had proved themselves so dan-
gerous when possessed of power."

This cool and cautious speech of the Bishop of Ceuta, directed
against those enterprises which were the glory of the Portuguese,
touched the national pride of Don Pedro de Meneses, Count of Villa
Real, and drew from him a lofty and patriotic reply. It has been
said by a historian that this reply was in support of the proposition
of Columbus; but that does not clearly appear. He may have treated
the proposal with respect, but his eloquence was employed for those
enterprises in which the Portuguese were already engaged.

"Portugal," he observed, "was not in its infancy, nor were its
princes so poor as to lack means to engage in discoveries. Even
granting that those proposed by Columbus were conjectural, why
should they abandon those commenced by their late Prince Henry,

• Vasconcelos, Vida dd Rey D. Juan II. 1. 4.

Ghap. VII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 35

Oil such solid foundations, and prosecuted with such happy prospects 1
Crowns," he observed, " enriched themselves by commerce, fortified
themselves by alliance, and acquired empires by conquest. The
views of a nation could not always be the same ; they extended with
its opulence and prosperity. Portugal was at peace with all the
princes of Eilrope. It had nothing to fear firom engaging in an ex-
tensive enterprise. It would be the greatest glory for Portuguese
valour to penetrate into the secrets and horrors of the ocean sea, so
formidable to the other nations of the world. Thus occupied, it
would escape the idleness engendered in a long interval of peace, that
source of vice, that silent file, which little by little, wore away the
strength and valour of a nation. It was an affront,^' he adeed, " to
the Portuguese name to menace it with imaginary perils, when it
had proved itself so intrepid in encountering those which -were the
most certain and tremendous. Great souls were formed for great
enterprises. He wondered much that a prelate, so religious as the
Bishop of Ceuta, should oppose this undertaking ; the ultimate object
of which was to augment the Catholic faith, and spread it from pole
to pole ; reflecting glory on the Portuguese nation, and yielding em
pire and lasting fame to its princes." He concluded by declaring,
that " although a soldier, he dared to prognosticate with a voice and
spirit as if from heaven, to whatever prince should achieve this en-
terprise, more happy success and durable renown, than had ever been
obtained by sovereign the most valorous and fortunate."* Such was
the warm and generous speech of the Count of Villa Real, in favour
of the African expeditions. It would have been fortunate for Por-
tugal had his eloquence been exerted in favour of Columbus ; for it
is said to have been received with acclamations, to have overpowered
the reasonings of the cold spirited Cazadilla, and to have inspired
the king and council with renewed ardour for the attempt to circum-
navigate the extremity of Africa, which they afterwards completed
with such brilliant success.

* Vasconcelos, L. 4, La Clede, Hist. Portugal L. 13. T. 3.

LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book L

CHAPTER VIII.

DEPARTURE OF COLUMBUS FROM PORTUGAL, AND APPLICATION
TO OTHER COURTS.

John II. of Portugal, is generally represented as a wise and mag-
nanimous prince, and as one little apt to be ruled by his counsellors.
In this memorable negociation with Columbus, however, he appears
to have been wanting in his usual magnanimity, and to have listened
to crafty council ; opposite at all times to true policy, and in this in
stance productive of much mortification and regret. Certain of his
counsellors, seeing that the monarch was dissatisfied with theii
decision, and still retained a lurking inclination for the enterprise^
suggested a stratagem bv which all its advantages might be secured,
without committing the dignity of the crown by entering into formal
negociations about what might prove a mere chimera. It was pro-
posed that Columbus should be kept in suspense, while a vessel should
be secretly despatched in the direction he had pointed out, to ascer-
tain whether there were any foundation for his theory.

This perfidious advice is attributed to Cazadilla, Bishop of Ceuta,
and agrees with the narrow policy which would have persuaded
king John to abandon the splendid track of his African discoveries.
The king, in evil hour, departed from his usual justice and generosity,
and had the weakness to permit the stratagem. Columbus was re-
quired to furnish a detailed plan 6( his proposed voyage, with the
charts or other documents according to which he intended to shape
his course, that they might be examined by the council. He readily
complied. A caravel was then despatched, with the ostensible pre-
text of carrying provisions to the Cape de Verd Islands, but with
private instructions to pursue the route designated in the papers of
Columbus. Departing from those islands, the caravel stood west-
ward for several days. The weather grew stormy, and the pilots
having no zeal to stimulate them, and seeing nothing but an immea-
surable waste of wild tumbling waves still extending before them,
lost all courage to proceed. They put back to the Cape de Verd
islands, and thence to Lisbon, excusing their own want of resolution,
by ridiculing the project of Columbus as extravagant and irrational.*

• Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 8. Herrera, Decad. 1. L. 1, c 7.

ChIp. VIII. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 37

This unworthy attempt to defraud him of his enterprise aroused
the indignation of Columbus. King John, it is said, would have
renewed the negociation, but he resolutely declined. His wife had
been for some time dead : the domestic tie which had bound him to
Portugal was broken; he determined, therefore, to abandon a country
where he had been treated with so little faith, and to look elsewhere
for patronage.

Towards the end of 1484, he departed from Lisbon, taking with
tiim his son Diego. He left the kingdom secretly, fearing, it is said,
that his departure might be prevented by the king ; but it is probable
that the real reason for this privacj'- was his impoverished and embar-
rassed situation. Like many other great projectors, while engrossed
by speculations fraught with vast advantage to mankind, he had
neglected his private affairs, and suffered them to run to ruin. It
would appear that the terrors of the law were impending over him,
and that he had to depart clandestinely to avoid being arrested for
debt. This at least is surmised, from the purport of a letter written
to him some years afterwards by the king of Portugal, and but
recently discovered, which, after inviting his return to that country,
insures him against arrest on account of any process, civil or criminal,
which might be pending against him.* When about to leave
Portugal he engaged his brother Bartholomew to depart likewise to
England with proposals to the monarch of that country. He does
not appear, however, to have entertained any great hopes from this
application ; for England by no means ' possessed at the time the
enterprising spirit in navigation which has since proved such a
source of power and prosperity.

An interval now occurs of about a year, during which the move-
ments of Columbus are involved in uncertainty. A modern Spanish
historian of great investigation and accuracy is of opinion that he
departed immediately for Genoa, where he affrms that he certainly
was in 1 485, when he repeated, in person, a proposition of his enter-
prise which he had formerly made to the government by letter, but
that he met with a contemptuoup refusal.!

The republic of Genoa, in fact, was not in a situation favourable
to such an undertaking. She was languishing under a long decline
and embarrassed by a foreign war. Caffa, her great deposit in the
Crimea, had recently fallen into the hands of the Turks, and her
flag was on the point of being driven from the Archipelago. Her
spirit was broken with her fortunes; for with nations, ais witk
individuals, enterprise is the child of prosperity, and is apt to

* Navarrete, CoUec. T. 2, Doc III. t Munoz, Hist. N. Mundo, L, t.

38 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book I.

languish in evil days, when there is most need of its exertion. Thus
Genoa, it would appear, disheartened by her reverses, shut her ears
to a proposition which would have elevated her to ten-fold splendour,
and might have perpetuated the golden wand of commerce in the
grasp of Italy.

From Genoa it is suggested that Columbus carried his proposal to
Venice. No documents exist to support this opinion. An Italian
writer of merit and research says, there is an old tradition floating in
Venice to that effect. A distinguished magistrate of that city, he
adds, assured him that he had formerly seen mention in the public
archives of this offer of Columbus, and of its being declined in con-
sequence of the critical state of national affairs.* The long and
inveterate wars, however, which had prevailed between Venice and
his native state render this application rather improbable. Different
authors agree that, about this time, he visited his aged father, made
some arrangements for his comfort, and having performed the duties
of a pious son, departed once more to try his fortunes in foreign
courts.

It will be observed that several of the foregoing circumstances, by
which an attempt has been made to account for the interval between
the departure of Columbus from Portugal, and the first notice we
have of him in Spain, are conjectural. Such, however, is the
embarrassment in developing this obscure part of his history, before
the splendour of his discovery had shed a light about his path. All
that can be done is to grope along, from one isolated fact to another.
That during this interval he struggled hard with poverty, would
appear from the destitute situation in which we first meet with him
in Spain; nor is it one of the least extraordinary circumstances in
his eventful life, that he had, in a manner, to beg his way from court
to court, to offer to princes the discovery of a world.

* Bossi, Document No. XIV.

LIFE AND VOYAGES

OF

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

BOOK 11.

CHAPTER I.

FIRST ARRIVAL OF COLUMBUS IN SPAIN.

It is interesting to notice the first arrival of Columbus in that country,
which was to become the scene of his glory, and which he was to
render so powerful and illustrious by his discoveries. In this we
meet with one of those striking and instructive contrasts which occur
in his eventful history. The first trace we have of him in Spain, is
in the testimony furnished a few years after his death, in the cele-
brated law-suit between his son Don Diego and the crown, by a physi-
cian named Garcia Fernandez, from whose deposition we glean the
following facts.

About half a league from the little seaport of Palos de Moguer
in Andalusia there stood, and continues to stand at the present day,
an ancient convent of Franciscan friars : dedicated to Santa Maria
de Rabida. One day a stranger on foot, in humble guise, but of a
distinguished air, accompanied by a small boy, stopped at the gate of
the convent, and asked of the porter a little bread and water for his
child. While receiving this humble refreshment, the prior of the
convent. Friar Juan Perez de Marchena, happening to pass by, was
struck with the appearance of the stranger, and observing from his
air and accent that he was a foreigner, entered into conversation
with him, and soon learnt the particulars of his story. That stranger
was Columbus, accompanied by his young son Diego. Where he
had come from does not clearly appear ;* that he was in destitute
circumstances is evident from the mode of his wayfaring: he was on

* " Lo dicho Almirante Colon veniendo k la Rabida, que es un monast^rio de
frailes en esta villa, el qual demand6 & la porteria que le diesen para aquel ninico,
que era nine, pan i agua que bebiese." The testimony of Garcia Fernandez ex-

40 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book H.

his way to the neighbouring town of Huelva, to seek his brother-in-
law, who had married a sister of his deceased wife.*

The prior was a man of extensive information. His attention had
been turned in some measure to geographical and nautical science,
probably from his vicinity to Palos> the inhabitants of which were
among the most enterprising navigators of Spain, and made frequent
voyages to the recently discovered islands and countries on the Afri-
can coast. He was greatly interested by the conversation of Colum-
bus, and struck with the grandeur of his views. It was a remark-
able occurrence in the monotonous life of the cloister, to have a man
of such singular character, intent on so extraordinary an enterprise,
applying for bread and water at the gate of his convent. He detained
him as his guest, and diffident of his own judgment, sent for a scien-
tific friend to converse with him. That friend was Garcia Fernan-
dez, a physician resident in Palos, the same who furnishes this
interesting testimony. Fernandez was equally struck with the
appearance and conversation of the stranger. Several conferences
took place at the old convent, and the project of Columbus was treated
with a deference in the quiet cloisters of La Rabida, which it had in
vain sought amidst the bustle and pretension of court sages and
philosophers. Hints too were gathered among the veteran mariners
of Palos, which seemed to corroborate his theory. One Pedro de
Velasco, an old and experienced pilot of the place, affirmed that
nearly thirty years before, in the course of a voyage, he was carried
by stress of weather so far to the northwest, that Cape Clear in
Ireland lay to the east of him. Here, though there was a strong
wind blowing from the west, the sea was perfectly smooth; a re-
markable circumstance, which he supposed to be produced by land
lying in that direction. It being late in August, however, he was
fearful of the approach of winter and did not venture to proceed on
the discovery. t

•Fray Juan Perez possessed that hearty zeal in friendship, which

ists in manuscript among the multifarious writings of the Pleito or law-suit, which
are preserved at Seville. I have made use of an authenticated extract, copied for
the late historian, Juan Baut. Muiioz. There is a little obscurity in some part of
the evidence of Garcia Fernandez. It was given many years after the event. He
states Columbus as coming with his infant son from the Castilian court, but he
evidently confounds two visits which Columbus made to the convent of La Ra-
bida into one. In making use of his testimony, that confusion has been corrected
by comparing it with other well ascertained facts.

♦ Probably Pedro Correa, already mentioned, from whom he had received infor-
mation of signs of land in the west, observed near Puerto Santo.

tHist. del Almirante, Cap. 8,

Chap. I.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 4i-

carries good wishes into good deeds. Being fully persuaded that
the proposed enterprise would be of the utmost importance to the
country, he offered to give Columbus a favourable introduction to
court, and he advised him by all means to repair thither, and make
his propositions to the Spanish sovereigns. Juan Perez was on in-
timate terms with Fernando de Talavera prior of the monastery of
Prado and confessor to the queen, a man high in royal confidence, and
possessing great weight in public affairs.* To him he gave Colum-
bus a letter, strongly recommending himself and his enterprise to the
patronage of Talavera, and requesting his friendly intercession with
the king and queen. As the influence of the church was paramount
in the court of Castile, and as Talavera, from his situation as con-
fessor, had the most direct and confidential communication with the
queen, every thing was expected from his mediation. In the mean-
time Fray Juan Perez took charge of the youthful son of Columbus,
to maintain and educate him at his convent.

The zeal of this worthy man, thus early enkindled, never cooled;
and many years afterwards, in the day of his success, Columbus looks
back, through the brilliant crowd of courtiers, prelates and philoso-
phers, who claimed the honour of having patronized his enterprise,
and points to this modest friar as one who had been most effectually
its friend. He remained in the convent until the spring of 1486,
when the court arrived in the ancient city of Cordova, where the
sovereigns intended to assemble their troops, and make preparations
for a spring campaign against the Moorish kingdom of Granada.
Elated then with fresh hopes, and confident of a speedy audience,
on the strength of the letter to Fernando de Talavera, Columbus
bade farewell to the worthy Prior of La Rabida, leaving with him
his child, and set out, full of spirits, for the court of Castile.

* Salinas Cron. Franciscana de Peru. L. 1, C. 14. Malendez Tesoros Verda-
deros de las Indias, L. 1, C. 1. -p. ^

4S LIFE AND VOYAGES (»• [Book IL

CHAPTER II.

CHARACTERS OF FERDINAND AND ISABELLA.
1486.

The time when Columbus first sought his fortunes in Spain coin-
cided with one of the most briUiant periods of the Spanish monarchy,
The union of the kingdoms of Arragon and Castile, by the marriage
of Ferdinand and Isabella, had consolidated the Christian power in
the Peninsula, and put an end to those internal feuds which had so
long distracted the country, and ensured the domination of the Mos-
lems. The whole force of united Spain was now exerted in the
chivalrous enterprise of the Moorish conquest. The Moors, who
had once spread over the whole country like an inundation, were
now dammed up within the mountain boundaries of the kingdom of
Granada. The victorious armies of Ferdinand and Isabella were
continually advancing, and pressing this fierce people within nar-
rower limits. Under these sovereigns, the various petty kingdoms
of Spain began to feel and act as one nation, and to rise to eminence
in arts as well as arms. Ferdinand and Isabella, it has been remark-
ed, lived together, not like man and wife, whose estates are common,
under the orders of the husband ; but like two monarchs, strictly al-
lied.* They had separate claims to sovereignty, in virtue of their
respective kingdoms; they had separate councils, and were often
distant from each other in different parts of their empire, each exer-
cising the royal authority ; yet they were so happily united by com-
mon views, common interests, and a great deference for each other,
that this double administration never prevented a unity of purpose
and of action. All acts of sovereignty were executed in both their
names ; all public writings were subscribed with both their signa-
tures ; their likenesses were stamped together on the public coin ;
and the royal seal displayed the united arms of Castile and Arragon.
Ferdinand was of the middle stature, well proportioned, and hardy
and active from athletic exercise. His carriage was free, erect and
majestic. He had a clear serene forehead, which appeared more

• Voltaire, Essai sur les mceurs, &c.

Chap. U.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 43

lofty from his head being partly bald. His eyebrows were large
and parted, and like his hair, of a bright chesnut; his eyes were
clear and animated; his complexion was somewhat ruddy, and
scorched by the toils of war ; his mouth moderate, well formed and
gracious in its expression ; his teeth white, though small and irregu-
lar. His voice sharp; his speech quick and fkient. His genius was
clear and comprehensive; his judgment grave and certain. He
was simple in clress and diet, equable in temper, devout in religion,
and so indefatigable in business, that it was said he seemed to re-
pose himself by working. He was a great observer and judge of
men, and unparalleled in the science of the cabinet. Such is the
picture given of him by the Spanish historians of his time. It has
been added, however, that he had more of bigotry than rehgion;
that his ambition was craving rather than magnanimous ; that he
made war less like a paladin than a prince, less for glory than for
mere dominion; and that his policy was cold, selfish, and artful.
He was called the wise and prudent in Spain; in Italy, the pious;
in France and England, the ambitious and perfidious.* He certainly
was one of the most subtle statesmen, but one of the most thorough
egotists, that ever sat upon a throne.

While giving his picture, it may not be deemed impertinent to
sketch the fortunes of a monarch, whose policy had such an effect
upon the history of Columbus, and the destinies of the new world.
Success attended all his measures. Though a younger son, he had
ascended the throne of Aragon by inheritance; Castile he obtained
by marriage ; Granada and Naples by conquest ; and he seized upon
Navarre as appertaining to any one who could take possession of it,
when Pope Julius II. excommunicated its sovereigns, Juan and
Catalina, and gave their throne to the first occupant.f He sent his
forces into Africa, and subjugated or reduced to vassalage, Tunis
and Tripoli, and Algiers, and most of the Barbary powers. A new
world was also given to him without cost, by the discoveries of Co-
lumbus; for the expense of the enterprise was borne exclusively by
his consort Isabella. He had three objects at heart from the com-
mencement of his reign, which he pursued with bigoted and perse-
cuting zeal; the conquest of the Moors, the expulsion of the Jews,
and the establishment of the Inquisition in his dominions. He ac-
complished them all, and was rewarded by Pope Innocent VIII.

* Voltaire, Essai sur les mceurs, Ch. XIV.

t Pedro Salazar de Mendoza, Monarq. de Esp. Lib. 3, Cap. 5, (Madrid, 1770^
torn. 1, p. 402.) Gonzalo de Illescas. Hist. Pontif. Lib. 6. Cap. 23, § 3.

ii LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book U.

with the appellation of Most Catholic Majesty; a title which his
successors have tenaciously retained.

Contemporary writers have been enthusiastic in their descriptions
of Isabella, but time has sanctioned their eulogies. She is one of the
purest and most beautiful characters in the pages of history. She
was well formed, of the middle size, with great dignity and grace-
fulness of deportment, and a mingled gravity ^dsweetness of de-
meanour. Her complexion was fair ; her hair au^urnT inclining to
red; her eyes were of a clear blue, with a benign expression; and
there was a singular modesty in her countenance, gracing as it did
a wonderful firmness of purpose, and earnestness of spirit. Though
strongly attached to her husband, and studious of his fame, yet she
always maintained her distinct rights as an allied prince. She ex-
ceeded him in beauty, in personal dignity, in acuteness of genius, and
in grandeur of soul.* Combining the active and resolute qualities of
man, with the softer charities of women, she mingled in the warlike
councils of her husband ; engaged personally in his enterprises;! and
in some instances surpassed him in the firmness and intrepidity of her
measures ; while, being inspired with a truer idea of glory, she in-
fused a more lofty and generous temper into his subtle and calculat-
ing policy.

It is in the civil history of their reign, however, that the character
of Isabella shines most illustrious. Her fostering and maternal care
was continually directed to reform the laws, and heal the ills
engendered by a long course of internal wars. She loved her people,
and while diligently seeking their good, she mitigated, as much as
possible, the harsh measures of her husband, directed to the same
end, but inflamed by a mistaken zeal. Thus, though almost bigoted
in her piety, and perhaps too much under the influence of ghostly
advisers, still she was hostile to every measure calculated to advance
religion at the expense of humanity. She strenuously opposed the
expulsion of the Jews, and the establishment of the Inquisition,
though unfortunately for Spain, her repugnance was slowly
vanquished by her confessors. She was always an advocate for
clemency to the Moors, although she was the soul of the war against
Granada. She considered that war essential to protect the Christian
faith, and to relieve her subjects from fierce and formidable enemies.

• Garibay, Hist, de Espana, T. 11, L. XVIH. C. 1.

t Several suits of armour cap-a-pie^ worn by Isabella, and still preserved in the
royal arsenal at Madrid, show that she was exposed to personal danger in lier
campaigns.

Chaf. m.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 4*

While all ber public thoughts and acts were princely and august,
her private habits were simple, frugal and unostentatious. In the
intervals of state business, she assembled round her the ablest men in
literature and science, and directed herself by their counsels, in pro-
moting letters and arts. Through her patronage, Salamanca rose to
that height which it assumed among the learned institutions of the
age. She promoted the distribution of honours and rewards for
the promulgation of knowledge; she fostered the art of printing,
recently invented, and encouraged the establishment of presses in
every part of the kingdom; books were admitted free of all duty, and
more, we are told, were printed in Spain, at that early period of the
art, than in the present literary age.*

It is wonderful, how much the destinies of countries depend at
times upon the virtues of individuals, and how it is given to great
spirits, by combining, exciting, and directing the latent powers of a
nation, to stamp it, as it were, with their own greatness. Such
beings realize the idea of guardian angels, appointed by heaven to
watch over the destinies of empires. Such had been prince Henry
for the kingdom of Portugal, and such was now for Spain the
illustrious Isabella.

CHAPTER III.

PROPOSITIONS OF COLUMBUS TO THE COURT OF CASTILE.
[ 1486. ]

When Columbus arrived at Cordova he found that ancient and
warlike city filled with the glitter and the din of arms and in all the
bustle of military preparation. The rival kings of Granada, Muley
Boabdel the uncle, surnamed El Zagal, and Mohammed Boabdel,
the nephew, surnamed El Chico, had just formed a coalition, and
their league called for prompt and vigorous measures. All the
chivalry of Spain bad been summoned to the field; the streets of
Cordova echoed to the tramp of steed and sound of trumpet, as day
by day the chivalrous nobles arrived, leading their feudal retainers.

Elogio de la Reina Catolica : por Diego Clemencin. Madrid, 1821.

46 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book H.

and vying with each other in the number of their troops and the
splendour of their appointments. The court was like a military
camp; the king and queen were surrounded by the flower of Spanish
chivalry; by those veteran cavaliers who had distinguished them-
selves in so many hardy conflicts with the Moors; and by the
prelates and friars who mingled in martial council, and took deep
interest and agency in this war of the Faith.

This was an unpropitious time for an humble stranger like
Columbus, to propose an enterprise, of strange and perplexing nature,
requiring deep consideration, and being totally foreign to the
engrossing business of the moment. Still he felt a confidence in the
great influence at court of Fernando de Talavera, who had constant
access to the sovereigns, and he lost no time in presenting the letter
of recommendation that was to secure him the warm patronage ol
the prior. Here he was doomed to meet with one of his many disap-
pointments. - Fernando de Talavera read the letter of the warm-
hearted Juan Perez de Marchena without being animated by his
zeal; he listened coldly and distrustfully to the explications of
Columbus, and quietly made up his opinion that the plan was
extravagant and impossible.*

The Prior of Prado was fully occupied with the councils and
concerns of the war, accompanying the court in most of its cam-
paigns; he had but little time or inclination therefore to investigate
what he considered a mere chimera, and still less disposition to in-
trude it upon the attention of the sovereigns in this hurried moment.
It is questionable, therefore, whether at the time he ever mentioned it
to the sovereigns; if he did it must have been in such lukewarm if
not disparaging terms as not to awaken their attention.

Instead, therefore, of meeting that immediate countenance from
the throne, which he had expected, Columbus found it impossible to
obtain even an audience. As he mingled in lowly guise among the
brilliant and bustling crowd that thronged every avenue to the throne,
he had to endure the ridicule of the light and the supercilious; one of
the greatest obstacles that modest merit can encounter in a court.
The slender interest on which he had founded his hopes of royal
patronage, and the humble garb in which his poverty compelled him
to appear, formed a preposterous contrast, in the eyes of the courtiers,
with the magnitude of his project and the magnificence of his specu-
lations. "Because he was a stranger," says Oviedo, "and went
but in simple apparel, nor otherwise credited than by the letter of a

* Salajjar, Chron. del Gran Cardinal, L. 1, C. 62.

Ghap. m.] ' CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. -fl^

gray friar, tney believed him not, neither gave ear to his words,
whereby he was greatly tormented in his imagination.*

The time consumed by Columbus in lingering attendance on the
Spanish court, has been a subject of much animadversion; it is but
candid, however, to take into consideration the situation of the sove-
reigns at the time; being personally engaged in most of the cam-
paigns of a rough and adventurous war, which left them scarce a
moment of repose.

Early in the spring the king marched off to lay siege to the
Moorish city of Loxa: and though the queen remained at Cordova,
she was continually employed in forwarding troops and supplies to
the army, and at the same time attending to the multiplied exigencies
of civil government. On the 12th of June she repaired to the camp,
then engaged in the siege of Moclin, and both sovereigns remained
for some time in the Vega of Granada, prosecuting the war with
unremitting vigour. They had barely returned to Cordova to cele-
brate their victories by public rejoicings, when they were obliged to
set out for Galicia, to suppress a rebellion of the Count of Lemos.
From thence they repaired to Salamanca for the winter.i

This brief picture of the occupation, and the bustling life, of the
Spanish sovereigns, during the first year after the arrival of Colum-
bus, may give an idea of their reign throughout the term of his
negociation, which precisely coincided with their war with the
Moors. The court was continually shifting from place to place, ac-
cording to the exigency of the moment. The sovereigns were either
on journeys or in the field; and when they had an interval of repose
from the rugged toils of war, they had a thousand claims on their
time and attention, from the modifications and reforms which they
were enforcing throughout their dominions.

Amidst such pressing concerns of domestic and immediate import-
ance, and so exhausting to the treasury, it is not to be wondered at,
that the monarchs should find little time to attend to a scheme of
foreign discovery, which required much consideration, called for
great expense, and was generally esteemed the wild dream of an
enthusiast.

During the summer and autumn of 1486, the period of the cam-
paign and the other transactions just alluded to, Columbus remained
at Cordova, being too poor to follow the court in its changes from
place to place. While lingering in Cordova he became attached to
a lady of that city named Beatrix Enriquez, who was of a noble

• Oviedo, L. ii. C. 5. English translation. t Pulgar, Zurito, Garibay, &c.

48 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book II.

family, though, it is probable, in impoverished circumstances. Like
most of the particulars of this part of his life, the circumstances of his
connexion with this lady are wrapped in obscurity. It was not
sanctioned by marriage, yet he retained a tender and respectful
sentiment for Dona Beatrix even to his dying day. She was the
mother of his second son Fernando, born in the following year ot
1487, who became his historian, and whom he always treated on
terms of perfect equality with his legitimate son Diego.

While wailing the slow growth of court patronage, Columbus was
obliged to have recourse to his former occupation for support, and
gained a scanty subsistence by designing maps and charts.* He
had a sanguine temperament, which bore him up against every
discouragement, and he trusted to time and perseverance to gain him
converts and friends of influence. In this he was not disappointed:
the singularity and importance of his scheme gradually attracted the
notice of thinking men; who became curious to know something of
this solitary stranger, thus endeavouring, almost unaided, to make his
way with so grand a proposition, to the foot of the throne.

Whenever Columbus had an opportunity of being heard by candid
and judicious men, he never failed to make a strong impression.
There was a dignity in his manners, an earnest sincerity in his con-
versation, an elevation in his views, and a practical shrewdness in his
arguments, that commanded respect even where they did not produce
conviction. Among the valuable friends he thus created about court
were Antonio Geraldini, the Pope's nuncio, and his brother Alexander
Geraldini, preceptor to the younger children of Ferdinand and Isa-
bella: the countenance of such men could not but be of great avail in
gaining him respect from others. f His most efficient friend however,
in this stage of his application, was Alonzo de Gluintanilla, comp-
troller of the finances of Castile, who became a warm advocate of
his theory, and received him as a guest into his house. As a means
of effectually promoting his interests, he endeavoured to procure for
him the patronage of the celebrated Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza,
Archbishop of Toledo and grand cardinal of Spain.

This was the most important personage about court. The king
and queen had him always at their side, in peace and war. He
accompanied them in their campaigns, and they never took any
measure of consequence without consulting him. He was face-
tiously called by Peter Martyr, "the third king of Spain." He was
a man of a clear understanding, eloquent, judicious, and of great
quickness and capacity in business. Simple yet curiously nice in

* Cura de los Palacios, C. 1 18. t Spotomo^ page 46. English translation.

Chap, III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

his apparel; lofty and venerable, yet gracious and gentle 111%^
deportment Though an elegant scholar, the grand cardinal^ ^jk^
many learned men of his day, was but little skilled in cosmography]
and was tenacious in his religious scruples. When the theorj^(
Columbus was first mentioned to him, it struck him as inv-
heterodox opinions, incompatible with the form of the earth, as
described in the sacred scriptures. Further explanations had their
force with a man of his quick apprehension and sound sense. He
perceived that at any rate there could be nothing irreligious in
attempting to extend the bounds of human knowledge, and to
ascertain the works of creation: his scruples once removed he per
mitted Columbus to be introduced to him, and gave him a courteous
reception. The latter knew the importance of his auditor, and that
a conference with the grand cardinal was almost equivaxent to a
communication with the throne; he exerted himself to the utmost
therefore, to explain and demonstrate his proposition. The clear
headed cardinal listened with profound attention. He was pleased
with the noble and earnest manner of Columbus, which showed him
to bo no common schemer; he felt the grandeur, and, at the same
time, the simplicity of his theory, and the force of many of the
arguments by which it was supported. He determined that it was
a matter highly worthy of the consideration of the sovereigns, and
through his representations Columbus at length obtained admission
to the royal presence.*

We have but scanty particulars of this audience, so long sought
and anxiously desired, nor can we ascertain whether Q,ueen Isabella
was present on the occasion; the contrary seems to be most probably
the case. Columbus appeared in the royal presence with modesty,
yet self-possession, neither dazzled nor daunted by the splendour of
the court or the awful majesty of the throne. He unfolded his plan
with eloquence and zeal, for he felt himself, as he afterwards de-
clared, kindled as with a fire from on high, and considered himself
the agent chosen by heaven to accomplish its grand designs, f

Ferdinand was too keen a judge of men not to appreciate the
character of Columbus. He perceived that, however soaring might
be his imagination, and vast and visionary his views, his scheme
had scientific and practical foundation. His ambition was excited
by the possibility of discoveries far more important than those which
had shed such glory upon Portugal ; and perhaps it was not the least
recommendation of the enterprise to this subtle and grasping

* Oviedo, L. 2, C. 4. Salazar, Cron. G. Cardinal, L. 1, C. 63.
t Letter to the Sovereigns in 1501. ^

Vol. L 4 E

50 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book II.

monarch, that, if successful, it would enable him to forestal that rival
nation in the fruits of their long and arduous struggle, and by
opening a direct course to India across the ooean, to bear off from
them the monopoly of oriental commerce.

Still, as usual, Ferdinand was cool and wary, and would not trust
nis own judgment in a matter that involved so many principles of
science. He determined to take the opinion of the most learned
men in the kingdom, and to be guided by their decision. Fernando
de Talavera, the prior of Prado, had been the person to whom
Columbus had been first recommended, and who had made the first
mention of him to the sovereigns; he was therefore, though with but
little reason, considered as his regular patron; and as he was one of
the most erudite men of the kingdom, he could not, it was supposed,
but take a deep interest in a question of the kind. To his superin-
tendence, therefore, the matter was especially consigned, he was
commanded to assemble the most learned astronomers and cosmo-
graphers for the purpose of holding a conference with Columbus, and
examining him, as to the grounds on which he founded his proposi-
tion. After they had informed themselves fully on the subject, they
were to consult together, and to make a report to the sovereign of
their collective opinion.*

When Columbus heard of this arrangement he considered the end
of his probation as at hand. He had hitherto been impeded by
ignorance, and prejudice, and pride, and levity ; obstacles which too
often beset the path of enlightened enterprise in the labyrinths of a
court. He was now, however, to come before the assembled learning
of the kingdom, before men competent to judge, elevated above all
vulgar prejudices, and devoted entirely to the promotion of useful
knowledge. From such men, he flattered himself, he should at
length receive an impartial and attentive hearing, and he trusted to
their intelligence and to the conclusive nature of his own demonstra-
tions, to ensure triumphant conviction.

• Hist, del Almirante, C. XI.

CHAr. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 51-

CHAPTER IV.

COLUMBUS BEFORE THE COUNCIL AT SALAMANCA.

The interesting conference relative to the proposition of Columbus
took place in Salamanca, the great seat of learning in Spain. It
was held in the Dominican Convent of St. Stephen, in which
Columbus was lodged and entertained with great hospitahty during
the course of the examination.*

Religion and science were at that time, and more especially in that
country, closely associated. The treasures of learning were immured
in monasteries, and the professors' chairs were exclusively filled from
the cloister. The domination of the clergy extended over the state
as well as the church, and posts of honour and influence at court,
with the exception of hereditary nobles, were almost entirely con-
fided to ecclesiastics. It was even common to find cardinals and
bishops in helm and corslet at the head of armies; for the crosier had
been occasionally thrown by for the lance, during the holy war
against the Moors. The era was distinguished for the revival of
learning, but still more for the prevalence of religious zeal, and Spain
surpassed all other countries of Christendom in the fervour of her
devotion. The Inquisition had just been established in that king-
dom, and every opinion that savoured of heresy made its owner
obnoxious to odium and persecution.

Such was the peF^d when a council of clerical sages was con-
vened in the collegiate convent of St. Stephen, to investigate the
new theory of Columbus. It was composed of professors of astrono-
my, geography, mathematics, and other branches of science, to-
gether with various dignitaries of the church, and learned friars.
Before this erudite assembly, Columbus presented himself to pro-
pound and defend his conclusions. He had been scoffed at as a
visionary by the vulgar and the ignorant; but he was convinced
that he only required a body of enlightened men to listen dispassion-
ately to his reasonings, to ensure trmmphant conviction.

The greater part of this learned junto, it is very probable, came
prepossessed against him, as men in place and dignity are apt to be
against poor applicants. There is always a proneness to consider a

• Hist, de Chiapa por Remesal, Lib. 2, C. J7.

SSI LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book II.

man under examination as a kind of delinquent, or impostor, whose
faults and errors are to be detected and exposed. Columbu^ too,
appeared in a most unfavourable light before a scholastic body: an
obscure navigator, member of no learned institution, destitute of all
the trappings and circumstances which sometimes give oracular
authority to dulness,. and depending upon the mere force of natural
genius. Some of the junto entertained the popular notion that he
was an adventurer, or at best a visionary; and others had that morbid
impatience of any innovation upon established doctrine, which is apt
to grow upon dull and pedantic men in cloistered life.

What a striking spectacle must the hall of the old convent have
presented at this memorable conference! A simple mariner, stand-
ing forth in the midst of an imposing array o-f professors, friars and
dignitaries of the church; maintaining his theory with natural
eloquence, and as it were, pleading th« cause of the new world.
We are told that when he began to state the grounds of his belief
the friars of St. Stephen alone paid attention to him;* that convent
being more learned in the sciences than the rest of the university.
The others appear to have entrenched themselves behind one dogged
position; that, after so many profound philosophers and cosmogra-
phers had been studying the form of the world, and so many able
navigators had been sailing about it for several thousand' yearsj it
was great presumption in an ordinary man to suppose that there
remained such a vast discovery for him to make.

Several of the objections opposed by this learned body have been
handed down to us, and have provoked many a sneer at the expense
of the university of Salamanca, but they are proofs, not so much of
the peculiar deficiency of that institution, as of the imperfect state
of science at the time, and the manner in whiaii knowledge, though
rapidly extending, was still impeded in its progress by monas-
tic bigotry. All subjects were still contemplated through the ob-
scure medium of those ages when the lights of antiquity were tram-
pled out and faith was left to fill the place of inquiry. Bewildered
in a maze of religious controversy, mankind had retraced their steps,
and receded from the boundary line of ancient knowledge. Thus,
at the very threshold of the discussion, instead of geographical ob-
jections, Columbus was assailed with citations from the bible and the
testament: the book af Genesis, the psalms of David, the Prophets,
the epistles, and the gospels. To these were added the expositions
of various saints and reverend commentators: SL ChrysosiQm.e and

» Remesal, Hist, de Chiap. L. 11^ C. 7.

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 53

St. Augustine, St. Jerome and St. Gregory, St. Basil and St. Am-
brose, and Lactantius Firmianus, a redoubted champion of the faith.
Doctrinal points were mixed up with philosophical discussions, and
a mathematical demonstration was allowed no weight, if it appeared
to clash with a text of scripture, or a commentary of one of the
fathers. Thus the possibility of antipodes, in the southern hemi-
sphere, an opinion so generally maintained by the wisest of the an-
cients, as to be pronounced by Pliny the great contest between the
learned and the ignorant, became a stumbling block with some of
the sages of Salamanca. Several of them stoutly contradicted this
fundamental position of Columbus, supporting themselves by quota-
tions from Lactantius and St. Augustine, who were considered in
those days as almost evangelical authority. But, though these
writers were men of consummate erudition, and two of the greatest
luminaries of what has been called the golden age of ecclesiastical
learning, yet their writings were calculated to perpetuate darkness
in respect to the sciences.

The passage cited from Lactantius to confute Columbus, is in a
strain of gross ridicule, unworthy of so grave a theologian. " Is
there any one so foolish," he asks, "as to believe that there are an-
tipodes with their feet opposite to ours; people who walk with their
heels upward, and their heads hanging down? That there is a
part of the world in which all things are topsyturvy: where the
trees grow with their branches downward, and where it rains, hails
and snows upward? The idea of the roundness of the earth," he
adds, " was the cause of inventing this fable of the antipodes, with
their heels in the air; for these philosophers, having once erred, go
on in their absurdities, defending one with another."

Objections of a graver nature were advanced on the authority of
St. Augustine. He pronounces the doctrine of antipodes to be in-
compatible with the historical foundations of our faith; since, to
assert that there were inhabited lands on the opposite side of the
globe, would be to maintain that there were nations not descended
from Adam, it being impossible for them to have passed the interven-
ing ocean. This v^^ould be, therefore, to discredit the bible, which
expressly declares, that all men are descended from one common
parent.

Such were the unlooked for prejudices which Columbus had to

encounter at the very outset of his conference, and which certainly

relish more of the convent than the university. To his simplest

proposition, the spherical form of the earth, were opposed figurative

texts of scripture. They observed that in the Psalms the heavens

E2

54 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IL

are said tobe extended like a hide,* that is, according to commentators,
the curtain or covering of a tent, which among the ancient pastoral
nations, was formed of the hides of animals; and that St. Paul, in
his Epistle to the Hebrews, compares the heavens to a tabernacle, or
tent, extended over the earth, which they thence inferred must be flat.

Columbus^ who was a devoutly religious man, found that he was
in danger of being convicted not merely of error, but of heterodoxy.
Others more versed in science admitted the globular form of the earth,
and the possibility of an opposite and habitable hemisphere; but they
brought up the chimera of the ancients, and maintained that it
would be impossible to arrive there, in consequence of the insupport-
able heat of the torrid zone. Even granting this could be passed,
they observed that the circumference of the earth must be so great as
to require at least three years to the voyage, and those who should
undertake it must perish of hunger and thirst, from the impossibility
of carrying provisions for so long a period. He was told, on the
authority of Epicurus, that admitting the earth to be spherical, it was
only inhabitable in the northern hemisphere, and in that section only
was canopied by the heavens ; that the opposite half was a chaos, a
gulf, or a mere waste of water. Not the least absurd objection
advanced was, that should a ship even succeed in reaching, in this
way, the extremity of India, she could never get back again; for the
rotundity of the globe would present a kind of mountain, up which
it would be impossible for her to sail with the most favourable wind.f

Such are specimens of the errors and prejudices, the mingled
ignorance and erudition, and the pedantic bigotry, with which Colum-
bus had to contend throughout the examination of his theory. Can
we wonder at the difficulties and delays which "he experienced at
courts, when such vague and crude notions were entertained by the
learned men of a university? We must not suppose, however, be-
cause the objections here cited are all which remain on record, that
they are all which were advanced; these only have been perpetuated
on account of their superior absurdity. They were probably advanced
by but few, and those persons immersed in theological studies, in
cloistered retirement; where the erroneous opinions derived from
books, had little opportunity of being corrected by the experience of
the day.

There were no doubt objections advanced more cogent in their
nature, and more worthy of that distinguished university. It is but

* Extendens cerium sicut pellem. Psal. 103. In the English translation it hi
Psal. 104, V. 3.
rHist. del Alniirante, Cap. 11.

Crap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. ^

justice to add, also, that the replies of Columbus had great weight
with many of his learned examiners. In answer to the scriptural
objections, he submitted that the inspired writers were not speaking
technically as cosmographers, but figuratively, in language addressed
to all comprehensions. The commentaries of the fathers he treated
with deference as pious homilies, but not as philosophical propo-
sitions which it was necessary either to admit or refute. The
objections drawn from ancient philosophers he met boldly and ably
upon equal terms; for he was deeply studied on all points of cosmo-
graph3^ He showed that the most illustrious of these sages believed
both hemispheres to be inhabitable, though they imagined that the
torrid zone precluded communication; and he obviated conclusively
that difficulty J for he had voyaged to St. George la Mina in Guinea,
almost under the equinoctial line, and had found that region not
merely traversable, but abounding in population, in fruits and
pasturage.

When Columbus took his stand before this learned body, he had
appeared the plain and simple navigator; somewhat daunted, per-
haps, by the greatness of his task, and the august nature of his
auditory. But he had a degree of religious feeling which gave him
a confidence in the execution of what he conceived his great errand,
and he was of an ardent temperament that became heated in action
by its own generous fires. Las Casas, and others of his contem-
poraries, have spoken of his commanding person, his elevated demean-
our, his air of authority, his kindling eye, and the persuasive
intonations of his voice. How must they have given majesty and
force to his words, as, casting aside his maps and charts, and discard-
ing for a time his practical and scientific lore, his visionary spirit took
fire at the doctrinal objections of his opponents, and he met them upon
their own ground, pouring forth those magnificent texts of scripture,
and those mysterious predictions of the prophets, which, in his
enthusiastic moments, he considered as types and annunciations of
the sublime discovery which he proposed!

Among the number who were convinced by the reasoning, and
warmed by the eloquence of Columbus, was Diego de Deza, a
worthy and learned friar of the order of St. Dominick, at that time
professor of theology in the convent of St. Stephen, but who became
afterwards archbishop of Seville, the second ecclesiastical dignitary of
Spain. This able and erudite divine was a man whose mind was
above the narrow bigotry of bookish lore; one who could appreciate
the value of wisdom even when uttered by unlearned lips. He was
not a mere passive auditor, he took a generous interest in the caUse,

^ LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book H.

and by seconding Columbus with all his powers, calmed the blind zeal
of his more bigoted brethren, so as to obtain for him a dispassionate, if
not an unprejudiced, hearing. By their united efforts, it is said,
they brought over the most learned men of the schools.* One great
difficulty was to reconcile the plan of Columbus with the cosmogra-
phy of Ptolemy, to which all scholars yielded implicit faith. How
would the most enlightened of those sages have been astonished, had
any one apprized them that the man, Copernicus, was then in
existence, whose solar system should reverse the grand theory of
Ptolemy, which stationed the earth in the centre of the universe!

Notwithstanding every exertion, however, there was a prepon-
derating mass of inert bigotry, and learned pride, in this erudite body,
which refused to yield to the demonstrations of an obscure foreigner,
without fortune or connexions, or any academic honours. "It was
requisite," says Las Casas, "before Columbus could make his solu-
tions and reasonings understood, that he should remove from hia
auditors those erroneous principles on which their objections were
founded; a task always more difficult than that of teaching the doc-
trine." Occasional conferences took place, but without producing
any decision. The ignorant, or what is worse, the prejudiced,
remained obstinate in their opposition, with the dogged perseverance
of dull men; the more liberal and intelligent felt little interest in dis-
cussions wearisome in themselves, and foreign to their ordinary
pursuits; even those who listened with approbation to the plan,
regarded it only as a delightful vision, full of probability and promise,
but one which never could be realized. Fernando de Talavera, to
whom the matter was especially intrusted, had too Uttle esteem for it,
and was too much occupied with the stir and bustle of public con-
cerns, to press it to a conclusion ; and thus the inquiry experienced
continual procrastination and neglect.

* Remesal, Hist, de Chiapa, L. 11, C. 7.

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS-

CHAPTER V.

FURTHER APPLICATIONS AT THE COURT OF CASTILE. COLUMBUS
FOLLOWS THE COURT IN ITS CAMPAIGNS.

The Castilian court departed from Salamanca early in the spring
of 1487 and repaired to Cordova, to prepare for the memorable
campaign against Malaga. Fernando de Talavera, now bishop of
Avila, accompanied the queen as her confessor, and as one of her
spiritual counsellors, in the concerns of the war. The consultations
of the board at Salamanca were interrupted by this event, before that
learned body could come to a decision, and for a long time Columbus
was kept in suspense, vainly awaiting the report that was to decide
the fate of his application.

It has generally been supposed that the several years which he
wasted in irksome solicitation, were spent in the drowsy and monoto-
nous attendance of antichambers ; but it appears, on the contrary, that
they were often passed amidst scenes of peril and adventure, and that,
in following up his suit, he was led into some of the most striking
situations of this wild, rugged and mountainous war. Several times
he was summoned to attend conferences in the vicinity of the
sovereigns, when besieging cities in the very heart of the Moorish
dominions; but the tempest of warlike affairs which hurried the
court from place to place, and gave it all the bustle and confusion of
a camp, prevented those conferences from taking place, and swept
away all concerns that were not immediately connected with the
war. Whenever the court had an interval of leisure and repose,
there would again be manifested a disposition to consider his pro-
posal, but the hurry and tempest would again return and the question
be again swept awaj^

The spring campaign of 1487, which took place shortly after the
conference at Salamanca, was full of incident and peril. King
Ferdinand had nearly been surprised and cut off by the old Moorish
Monarch before Velez Malaga, and the queen and all the court at
Cordova were for a time in an agony of terror and suspense until
assured of his safety.

When the sovereigns were subsequently encamped before the cit j
of Malaga, pressing its memorable siege, Columbus was summoned

58 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF ' [Book H.

to the court. He found it drawn up in its silken pavilions on a
rising ground, commanding the fertile valley of Malaga ; the en-
campments of the warlike nobility of Spain, extended in a semicircle
on each side, to the shores of the sea, strongly fortified, glittering
with the martial pomp of that chivalrous age and nation, and closely
investing that important city.

The siege was protracted for several months, but the vigorous
defence of the Moors, their numerous stratagems and fierce and fre-
quent sallies, allowed but little leisure in the camp. In the course
of this siege, the application of Columbus to the sovereigns was
nearly bro\;ght to a violent close ; a fanatic Moor having attempted
to assassinate Ferdinand and Isabella. Mistaking one of the gor-
geous pavilions of the nobility for the royal tent, he attacked Don
Alvaro de Portugal, and Dona Beatrix de Bobadilla, Marchioness of
Moya, instead of the king and queen. After wounding Don Alvaro
dangerously, he was foiled in a blow aimed at the marchioness, and
immediately cut to pieces by the attendants.* The lady here men-
tioned was of extraordinary merit, and force of character. She even-
tually took a great interest in the suit of Columbus, and had much
influence in recommending it to the queen, with whom she was a
particular favourite.!

Malaga surrendered on the 18th of August, 1487. There appears
to have been no time during its stormy siege to attend to the question
of Columbus, though Fernando de Talavera, the bishop of Avila
was present, as appears by his entering the captured city in solemn
and religious triumph. The campaign being ended, the Court re-
turned to Cordova, but was almost immediately driven from that
city by the pestilence.

For upwards of a year the court was in a state of continual mi-
gration; part of the time in Saragossa, part of the time invad-
ing the Moorish territories by the way of Murcia, and part of the
time in Valladolid, and Medina del Campo. Columbus attended it
in some of its movements, but it was in vain to seek a quiet and
attentive hearing from a court surrounded by the din of arms, and
continually on the march. Wearied and discouraged by these de-
lays, he began to think of applying elsewhere for patronage, and ap-
pears to have commenced negotiations with King John II. for a re-
turn to Portugal. He wrote to that monarch on the subject, and re-
ceived a letter in reply dated 20th of March, 1488, inviting him to

* Pulgar, Cronica, C. 87. P. Martyr.
t Retrato del Buen Vassallo, L. 2, C. 16,

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLU^IBUS. W

return to his court, and assuring him of protection from any suits of
either a civil or criminal nature, that might be pending against him.
He received, also, a letter from Henry VII. of England, inviting
him to that country, and holding out promises of encouragement.

There must have been strong hopes, authorised about this time by
the conduct of the Spanish sovereigns, to induce Columbus to neg-
lect these invitations ; and we find ground for such a supposition in
a memorandum of a sum of money paid to him by the Treasurer Gon-
zalez, to enable him to comply with a summons to attend the Cas-
tilian court. By the date of this memorandum, the payment must
have been made immediately after Columbus had received the letter of
the King of Portugal. It would seem to have been the policy of King
Ferdinand to amuse him with false hopes, both to prevent his carry-
ing his proposition to another and a rival monarch, and to keep the
matter in suspense, until he should have leisure to examine it, and,
if adviseable, to carry it into operation.

In the spring of 1489 the long adjourned investigation appeared
to be on the eve of taking place. Columbus was summoned to at-
tend a conference of learned men, to be held in the city of Seville; a
royal order was issued for lodgings to be provided for him there; and
the magistrates of all cities and towns through which he might pass,
on his way, were commanded to furnish accommodations gratis, for
himself and his attendants. A provision of the kind was necessary
in those days, when even the present wretched establishments, called
posadas, for the reception of travellers, were scarcely known.

The city of Seville complied with the royal command, but as usual
the appointed conference was postponed, being interrupted by the
opening of a campaign, "in which" says an old chronicler of the
place, " the same Columbus was found fighting, giving proofs of the
distinguished valour, which accompanied his wisdom, and his lofty
desires."*

The Campaign in which Columbus is here said to have borne so
honourable a part, was one of the most glorious of the war of Granada.
Queen Isabella attended with all her court, including as usual a
stately train of prelates and friars, among whom is particularly men-
tioned the procrastinating arbiter of the pretensions of Columbus,
Fernando de Talavera. Much of the success of the campaign is
ascribed to the presence and counsel of Isabella. The city of Baza,
which was closely besieged and had resisted valiantly for upwards
of six months, surrendered soon after her arrival; and on the 22d of

* Diego Ortiz de Zuiiiga. Ann. de Sevilla, L. 12. Anno. 1489. P. 404.

GO LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [BooeH.

December, Columbus beheld Muley Boabdil, the elder of the two rival
kings of Granada, surrender in person all his remaining possessions,
and his right to the crown, to the Spanish sovereigns.

During this siege a circumstance took place which appears to have
made a deep impression on the devout and enthusiastic spirit of Co-
lumbus. Two reverend friars arrived one day at the Spanish camp,
and requested admission to the sovereigns on business of great mo-
ment. They were two of the brethren of the convent established at
the holy sepulchre at Jerusalem. They brought a message from the
Grand Soldan of Egypt, threatening to put to death all the Chris-
tians in his dominions, to lay waste their convents and churches and
to destroy the sepulchre, if the sovereigns did not desist from the
war against Granada. The menace had no effect in altering the
purpose of the sovereigns, but Isabella granted a yearly and per-
petual sum of one thousand ducats in gold,* for the support of the
monks whodhad charge of the sepulchre; and sent a veil, embroi-
dered with her own hands, to be hung up at its shrine, f

The representations of these friars of the sufferings and indigni-
ties to which Christians were subjected in the holy land, together with
the arrogant threat of the Soldan, roused the pious indignation of the
Spanish cavaliers, and many burned with ardent zeal once more to
revive the contests of the faith on the sacred plains of Palestine. It
was probably from conversation with these friars, and from the pious
and chivalrous zeal thus awakened in the warrior throng around him,
that Columbus first conceived an enthusiastic idea, or rather made a
kind of mental vow, which remained more or less present to his
mind until the very day of his death. He determined that, should
his projected enterprise be successful, he would devote the profits
arising from his anticipated discoveries, to a crusade for the rescue
of the holy sepulchre from the power of the infidels.

If the bustle and turmoil of this campaign prevented the intended
conference, the concerns of Columbus fared no better during the
subsequent rejoicings. Ferdinand and Isabella entered Seville in
February 1490 with great pomp and triumph. There were then
preparations made for the marriage of their eldest daughter the
Princess Isabella, with the Prince Don Alonzo, heir apparent of
Portugal. The nuptials were celebrated in the month of April with
extraordinary splendour. Throughout the whole winter and spring
the court was in a continual tumult of parade and pleasure, and no-
thing was to be seen at Seville but feasts, tournaments, and torch-

* Or 1423 dollars, equivalent to 4269 dollars in our time,
t Garabay, Compend. Hist. L. xviii. C. 36.

Chap. V-l CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. ^t

light processions. What chance had Columbus of being heard amid
these alternate uproars of war and festivity?

During this long course of solicitation he supported himself, in
part, by the exertion of his talents in making maps, and was occa-
sionally assisted by the purse of the worthy friar Diego de Deza. It
is due to the sovereigns to say, also, that whenever he was summoned to
follow the movements of the court, or to attend any appointed con-
sultation, he was attached to the royal suite, and lodgings were pro-
vided for him and sums issued to defray his expenses. Memoran-
dums of several of these sums still exist in the book of accounts of
the royal treasurer, Francisco Gonzalez, of Seville, which has lately
been found in the archives of Simancas; and it is from these minutes
that we have been enabled, in some degree, to follow the movements
of Columbus during his attendance upon this rambling and warlike
court.

During all this time he was exposed to continual scoffs and indig-
nities, being ridiculed by the light and ignorant as a mere dreamer,
and stigmatized by the illiberal as an adventurer. The very child-
ren, it is said, pointed to their foreheads as he passed, being taught
to regard him as a kind of madman.

The summer of 1490 passed away, but still Columbus was kept in
tantalizing and tormenting suspense. The subsequent winter was
not more propitious. He was lingering at Cordova in a state of irri-
tating anxiety, when he learnt that the sovereigns were preparing to
depart on a campaign in the Vega of Granada, with a determination
never to raise their camp from before that city, until their victorious
banners should float upon its towers.

Columbus was aware that when once the campaign was opened
and the sovereigns were in the field, it would be in vain to expect any
attention to his suit. He was wearied, if not incensed, at the re-
peated postponements he had experienced, by which several years
had been consumed. He now pressed for a decisive reply with an
earnestness that would not admit of evasion. Fernando de Talavera,
therefore, was called upon by the sovereigns to hold a definitive con-
ference with the scientific men to whom the project had been re-
ferred, and to make a report of their decision.' The Bishop tardily
complied, and at length reported to their majesties, as the general
opinion of the Junto, that the proposed scheme was vain and impossi-
ble, and that it did not become such great princes to engage in an
enterprise of the kind on such weak grounds as had been advanced.*

HisU del Almirante, Cap. 2. p

62 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book II.

Notwithstanding this unfavourable report, the sovereigns were
unwilling to close the door upon a project which might be produc*
tive of such important advantages. Many of the learned members
of the Junto, also were in its favour, particularly Fray Diego de
Deza, tutor to Prince Juan, who from his situation and clerical
character had access to the royal ear, and exerted himself strenu-
ously in counteracting the decision of the board. A degree of con-
sideration, also, had gradually grown up at court for the enterprise,
and many men, distinguished for rank and merit, had become its ad-
vocates. Fernando de Talavera, therefore, was commanded to in-
form Columbus, who was still at Cordova, that the great cares and
expenses of the war rendered it impossible for the sovereigns to en-
gage in any new enterprise; but that when the war was concluded
they would have both time and inclination to treat with him about
what he proposed.*

This was but a starved reply to receive after so many years of
weary attendance, of anxious expectation and deferred hopes.
Whatever graciousness, too, there might have been in the message,
as dictated by the monarchs, was, probably, lost in the chilling
medium through which it passed. At any rate, Columbus was un-
willing to receive the reply at the hands of a person who had never
evinced the friendship he considered himself entitled to expect from
him; he repaired, therefore, to the court at Seville, to learn his fate
from the lips of the sovereigns. Their reply was virtually the same,
declining to engage in the enterprise for the present, but holding out
hopes of patronage, when released from the cares and expenses of
the war.

Columbus looked upon this indefinite postponement as a mere
courtly mode of evading his importunity, and supposed that the
favourable dispositions of the sovereigns had been counteracted by the
objections of the ignorant and bigoted. Renouncing all further con-
fidence, therefore, in vague promises, which had so often led to dis-
appointment, and giving up all hopes of countenance from the throne,
he turned his back upon Seville, filled with indignation at the
thoughts of having been beguiled out of so many precious years of
waning existence.

♦ Hist, del Almirante, Ubi sup.

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 63

CHAPTER VI.

APPLICATIONS TO THE DUKES OF MEDINA SIDONIA AND MEDINA
CELI RETURN TO THE CONVENT OF LA RABIDA.

Columbus had now relinquished all hope of success with the Cas-
tilian sovereigns, and turned to look for patronage elsewhere. Be-
sides the letters from the kings of England and Portugal he had
likewise received one from the king of France, which must have
been of a highly encouraging purport, as he seems to have been
repeatedly on the point of repairing to the court of that monarch.
Still he postponed his departure, and could not persuade himself to
abandon Spain. It had become in a manner the home of his affec-
tions, for at the convent of La Rabida was his youthful son Diego, and
in Cordova resided Beatrix Enriquez and his infant son Fernando.
To leave Spain would be to leave them behind, for he could not make
them the companions of his indigent and uncertain wanderings.
Such at least has been suggested as a reason for his continuing in
the country, when all hopes of royal patronage was at an end, and
when letters from foreign sovereigns invited him to their courts; and
those who know how the resolutions of the most ardent and enter-
prising are counteracted by these soft affections of the heart, will
not consider the suggestion as improbable.

Unwilling therefore, to break off all connexion with Spain,
Columbus now looked round among her rich and powerful nobility
to see if there might not be some one able and willing to patronise
his enterprise. The feudal power of the Spanish nobles was not as
yet entirely broken down. There were several who had vast
possessions, and who exercised almost independent authority in their
domains. Among these were the dukes of Medina Sidonia, and
Medina Cell. Both had estates like principalities, lying along the
seaboard, with ports and shipping at their command. These noble-
men served the crown more as allied princes than as vassals, bringing
armies of their retainers into the field, led on by their own captains,
or by themselves in person. They assisted with their armadas, and
they contributed with their treasures to the successes of the war, but
maintained a jealous right over the disposition of their forces. Dur-

f>4 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book IL

ingthe siege of Malaga, the duke af Medina Sidonia volunteered at
one time a large force of the cavaliers of his household, sending
twenty thousand doblas of gold,* and one hundred vessek; some
armed, and others laden with provisions, from his rich domains.
The domestic establishments of these nobles were like the establish-
ments of petty sovereigns; whole armies of retainers thronged their
various estates; and their houses were filled with persons of merit,
and with young cavaliers of family, reared under theix auspices in.
the exercise of arts and arms.

The first application of Columbus was to the Duke of Medina
S'idonia, from whom he experienced the most favourable reception.
The duke was of a lofty and chivalrous character, with that mixture
of religious devotion which distinguished the Spanish nobleman of
the time. He was fond of heroic and princely enterprises, espe-
cially against the enemies of the faith; as his invasion of the African
eoast ai:wi his capture of the city of Mel ilia vdth a squadron and army
fitted out at liis own expense, sufficiently evinced. He had se-
veral interviews with Columbus arid was greatly tempted, at first,
by the adventurous nature of the enterprise, and by the idea of Ori-
ental realms to be discovered,, and Pagan nations to be converted or
subdued. The very splendour of these anticipations, however, threw
a colouring of exaggeration over the scheme ; and the duke began ta
doubt the judgment, at least,^ of this indigent foreigner, who was thus^
confidently proffering all the wealth of the Indies. He finally
declined all participation in the project, considering it, we are told,
the dream of an Italian visionary.*

Columbus next applied to the duke of Medina Celi; a nobleman^
scarcely less enterprising than the former, and distinguished in the
wars with Portugal and Granada. From him, likewise, he for a time
received the most flattering encourag ment. They had various
negotiations at the port of Saint Mary, opposite to Cadiz, which
belonged to the duke; and where he had several vessels fitted for the
sea. Columbus asked but three or four caravels, which lay idle in
the harbour and which he declared would be sufficient for the expedi-
tion. The duke wavered and was on the point of consenting, when
he reflected that, should the object of the enterprise be realized, it
would be too great to be grasped by a subject, involving questions of
empire, fit only for a sovereign power. The very attempting it might
draw upon him the displeasure of the king and queen, being a mat-

*0r 35,514 dollars, and' equivalent to the present vaTue of tOG,542 dollars,
t Hist, del Almirante, C. 12. Herrera,. Hist.^ Ind. Decad. 1, L. 1, C. 8. Go
Hist.Ind.C.13,

//

Ghap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 65

ter which had already excited their attention, and which they had
never formally renounced.

He wrote to the queen on the subject and her answer confirmed
his opinion; whereupon he immediately abandoned the undertaking ;
advising Columbus to apply once more to the Spanish monarchs;
and giving him a letter for queen Isabella, in which he solicited that
in case the expedition should be carried into effect, his port of St.
Mary might be made the place of rendezvous and departure, as a
recompense or his having waived the enterprise in favour of the
crown.

Columbus saw time and life thus wasting away in tantalizing
hopes and bitter disappointments. He felt averse to the idea of
again returning to follow the court in all its baffling movements, and
determined to comply with the invitation of the king of France and
to repair immediately to Paris. Full of this resolution he departed
for the convent of La Rabida, to seek his eldest son Diego, who still
remained under the care of his zealous friend Juan Perez, intending
to leave him, with his other son, at Cordova.

When the worthy prior beheld Columbus once more arrive at the
gate of his convent, humble in garb and poor in purse as when he
first applied there, and found that seven years' solicitation at the court
had ended in poverty and disappointment, he was greatly moved;
but when, on further conversation, he found that the voyager was on
the point of abandoning Spain, to seek for patronage in the court of
France, and that so important an enterprise was about to be lost for
ever to the country, the patriotism of the good friar took the alarm
and inspired his ardent spirit with new zeal. He sent in all haste
for his scientific intimate and adviser, Garcia Fernandez, the physi-
cian of the neighbouring town, and they had further consultations
on the scheme of Columbus. He called in, also, to their councils,
one Martin Alonzo Pinzon, the head of a family of wealthy and
distinguished navigators of Palos, who were celebrated for thsir
practical experience, and their adventurous expeditions. Pinzon
gave the plan of Columbus his decided approbation, offering to en-
gage in it with purse and person, and to bear the expenses of Colum-
bus in a renewed application to the court.

Friar Juan Perez was confirmed in his faith by the concurrence
of his learned and his practical counsellors. He had once been
confessor to the queen, and knew that she was always accessible
to persons of his sacred calling. He proposed to write to her
immediately on the subject, and entreated Columbus to delay his
journey until an answer could be received. The latter was easily
persuaded, for he felt as if in leaving Spain he was again abandoning

Vol, I. F2

1/

#5 XIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book. IL

his home. He was also reluctant to renew, in another court, the vexa-
tions and disappointments he had experienced in Spain and Portugal.

Having agreed to remain, the little council at the convent cast
round their eyes for an ambassador to depart upon this momentous
mission. They chose one Sebastian Rodriguez, a pilot of Lepe, one
of the most shrewd and important personages in this maritime
neighbourhood. The queen was at this time at Santa Fe, the
military city which had been built in the Vega before Granada^
after the conflagration of the royal camp. The honest pilot acquitted
himself faithfully, expeditiously, and successfully, in his embassy.
He found access to the benignant princess, and delivered the epistle
of the friar. Isabella had already been favourably disposed to the
proposition af Columbus ; and had been further influenced by the
correspondence of the Duke of Medina Celi. She wrote in reply to
Juan Perez, thanking him for his timely services, and requesting
that he would repair immediately to the court, leaving Christopher
Columbus in confident hope, until he should hear further from her,
This royal letter was brought back by the pilot, at the end of four-
teen days, and spread great joy in the little junto at the convent.
No sooner did the warm-hearted friar receive it, than he saddled his
mule, and departed privately before midnight for the court. He
journeyed through the conquered countries of the Moors, and rode
into the newly erected city of Santa Fe, where the sovereigns were
superintending the close investment of the capital of Granada.

The sacred office of Juan Perez gained him a ready entrance in a
court distinguished for religious zeal; and, once admitted to the
presence of the queen, his former relation, as father confessor, gave
him great freedom of counsel. He pleaded the cause of Columbus
with characteristic enthusiasm, speaking, from actual knowledge,
of his honourable motives, his professional knowledge and experience,
and his perfect capacity to fulfil the undertaking; he represented the
solid principles upon which the enterprise was founded ; the advan*
tages that must attend its success; and the glory it must shed upon
the Spanish crown.

It is probable that Isabella had never heard the proposition urged
with such honest zeal and impressive eloquence. Being naturally
more sanguine and susceptible than the king, and more open to warm
and generous impulses, she was moved by the representations
of Juan Perez, which were warmly seconded by her favourite the
Marchioness of Moya, who entered into the affair with a woman's
disinterested enthusiasm.* The queen requested that Columbus

• Retrato del Buen Vassallo, L. 2, Cap. IS.

f/

Chap. VII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. m

might be again sent to her; and with the kind considerateness which
characterized her, bethinking herself of his poverty, and his humble
plight, ordered that twenty thousand maravedis* in florins should be
forwarded to him, to bear his travelling expenses, to provide him with
a mule for his journey, and to furnish him with decent raiment, that
he might make a respectable appearance at the court.

The worthy friar lost no time in communicating the result of his
mission; he transmitted the money, and a letter, by the hands of an
inhabitant of Palos, to the physician Garcia Fernandez, who
delivered them to Columbus. The latter complied with the instruc-
tions conveyed in the ^istle. He exchanged his threadbare garb
for one more suited to the sphere of a court, and, purchasing a
mule, set out once more, reanimated by hope, for the camp before
Granada.!

CHAPTER VII

APPLICATION TO THE COURT AT THE TIME OF THE SURRENDER
OF GRANADA.

[1492.]

When Columbus arrived at the court, he experienced a favourable //
reception, and was given in hospitable charge to his steady friend
Alonzo de Gluintanilla, the accountant general. The moment,
however, was too eventful for his business to receive immediate
attention. He arrived in time to witness the memorable surrender
of Granada to the Spanish arms. He beheld Boabdil, the last of the
Moorish kings, sally forth from the Alhambra, and yield up the
keys of that favourite seat of Moorish power; while the king and
queen, with all the chivalry, and rank and magnificence of Spain,
moved forward in proud and solemn procession, to receive this token
of submission. It was one of the most brilliant triumphs in Spanish

* Or seventy-two dollars — equivalent to two hundred and sixteen dollars of tjie
present day.

t Most of the particulars of this second visit of Columbus to the convent of La
Rabida, are from the testimony rendered by Garcia Fernandez in the lawsuit
between Diego, the son of Columbus, and the crown.

68 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book II.

history. After near eight hundred years of painful struggle, the
crescent was completely cast down, the cross exalted in its place, and
the standard of Spain was seen floating on the highest tower of the
Alhambra. The whole court and army was abandoned to jubilee.
The air resounded with shouts of joy, with songs of triumph, and
hjrmns of thanksgiving. On every side were beheld military
rejoicings and religious oblations; for it was considered a triumph,
not merely of arms, but of the faith. The king and queen moved in
the midst, in more than common magnificence, while every eye
regarded them as more than mortal ; as if sent by heaven for the
salvation and building up of Spain.* The court was thronged by
the most illustrious of that warlike country, and stirring era; by the
flower of its nobility, by the most dignified of its prelacy, by bards
and minstrels, and all the retinue of a romantic and picturesque age.
There was nothing but the glittering of arms, the rustling of robes,
the sound of music and festivity.

Do we want a picture of our navigator during this brilliant and
triumphant scene ? It is furnished by a Spanish writer : "A man
obscure and but little known followed at this time the court. Con-
founded in the crowd of importunate applicants, feeding his imagina-
tion in the corners of antichambers with the pompous project of
discovering a world, melancholy and dejected in the midst of the
general rejoicing, he beheld with indifference, and almost with
contempt, the conclusion of a conquest which swelled all bosoms
with jubilee, and seemed to have reached the utmost bounds of desire.
That man was Christopher Columbus." t

The moment had now arrived, however, when the monarchs stood
pledged to attend to his proposals. The war with the Moors was at
an end, Spain was delivered -from its intruders, and, its sovereigns
might securely turn their views to foreign enterprise. They kept
their word with Columbus. Persons of confidence were appointed
to negotiate with him, among whom was Fernando de Talavera,
who by the recent conquest had risen to be Archbishop of Granada.
At the very outset of their negotiation, however, unexpected difficul-
ties arose. So fully imbued was Columbus with the grandeur of his
enterprise, that he would listen to none but princely conditions.
His principal stipulation was that he should be invested with the
titles and privileges of Admiral and Viceroy over the countries he
should discover, with one tenth of all gains, either by trade or con-
quest. The courtiers who treated with him were indignant at such

♦ Mariana, Hist, de Esp. Lib. 25, C. 18.

j Clemencin. Elogio de la Reina Catolica, p. 20.

Chap. VIL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 69

a demand. Their pride was shocked to see one, whom they had
considered as a needy adventurer, aspiring to rank and dignities
superior to their own. One observed with a sneer that it was a
shrewd aiTangement which he proposed, whereby he was secure, at
all events, of the honour of a command, and had nothing to lose in
case of failure. To this Columbus promptly replied, by offering, to
furnish one eighth of the cost, on condition of enjoying an eighth
of the profits.

His terms, however, were pronounced inadmissible. Fernando de
Talavera had always considered Columbus a dreaming speculator,
or a needy solicitor for bread ; but to see this man, who had for years
been an indigent and threadbare solicitor in his antichamber, assum-
ing so lofty a tone, and claiming an office that approached to the
awful dignity of the throne, excited the a&tonishment as well as
indignation of the prelate. He represented to Isabella that it would
be degrading to the dignity of so illustrious a crown, to lavish such
distinguished honours upon a nameless stranger. Such terms, he
observed, even in case of success, would be exorbitant- but in case
of failure, would be cited with ridicule, as evidence of the gross
credulity of the Spanish monarchs.

Isabella was always attentive to the opinions of her ghostly
advisers, and the archbishop, being her confessor, had peculiar influ-
ence. His suggestions checked her dawning favour. She thought
the proposed advantages might be purchased at too great a price.
More moderate conditions were offered to Columbus, and such as
appeared highly honourable and advantageous. It was all in vain)
he would not cede one point of his demands, and the n^otiation
was broken off.

It is impossible not to admire the great constancy of purpose, and
loftiness of spirit displayed by Columbus ever since he had con-
ceived the sublime idea of his discovery. More than eighteen
years had elapsed since his correspondence with Paolo Toscanelli
of Florence, wherein he had announced his design. The greatest
part of that time had been consumed in applications at various court&
During that period, what poverty, neglect, ridicule, contumely and
disappointment had he not suffered! Nothing, however, co^ld shake
his perseverance, nor make him descend to terms which he considered
beneath the dignity of his enterprise In all his negotiations he for-
got his present obscurity, he forgot his present indigence; his ardent
imagination realized the magnitude of his contemplated discoveries
and he felt himself negotiating about empire.

Though so large a portion of life had worn away in fruitless

fO LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book II.

solicitings; though there was no certainty that the same weary
career was not to be entered upon at any other court; yet so indig-
nant was he at the repeated disappointments he had experienced in
Spain that he determined to abandon it for ever, rather than com-
promise his demands. Taking leave of his friends, therefore, he
mounted his mule, and sallied forth from Santa Fe in the beginning
of February, 1492, on his way to Cordova, from whence he intended
to depart immediately for France.

When the few friends who were zealous believers in the theory
of Columbus, saw him really on the point of abandoning the country,
they were filled with distress, considering his departure an irrepara-
ble loss to the nation. Among the number was Luis de St. Angel,
receiver of the ecclesiastical revenues in Arragon, He determined
to make one bold effort to avert the evil. He obtained an immediate
audience of the queen, accompanied by Alonzo de Quintanilla, who
supported him warmly in all his instances. The exigency of the
moment gave him courage and eloquence. He did not restrain him-
self to entreaties ; he mingled almost reproaches. He expressed his
astonishment that a queen, who had evinced the spirit to undertake
so many, great and perilous enterprises, should hesitate at one where
the loss could be so trifling, while the gain might be incalculable.
He reminded her how much might be done for the glory of God, the
exaltation of the church, and the extension of her own power and
dominion. What cause of regret to herself, of triumph to her ene-
mies, of sorrow to her friends, should this enterprise, thus rejected by
her, be accomplished by some other power! He reminded her what
fame and dominion other princes had acquired by their discoveries ;
and here was an opportunity to surpass them all. He entreated her
majesty not to be misled by the assertions of learned men, that the
project was the dream of a visionary. He vindicated the judgment
of Columbus, and the soundness and practicability of his plans.
Neither would even his failure reflect disgrace upon the crown. It
was worth the trouble and expense to clear up even a doubt upon a mat-
ter of such importance, for it belonged to enlightened and magnani-
mous princes to investigate questions of the kind, and to explore the
wonders and secrets of the universe. He stated the liberal offer of
Columbus to bear an eighth of the expense, and informed her that all
the requisites for this great enterprise consisted but of two vessels, and
about three thousand crowns.

These and many more arguments were urged, with that persuasive
power which honest zeal imparts ; and it is said the marchioness of
Mo)?a who was present, exerted her eloquence to persuade the queen.

Chap. VU.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 9f I

The generous spirit of Isabella was enkindled. It seemed as if,
for the first time, the subject broke upon her mind in its real grandeur,
and she declared her resolution to undertake the enterprise.

There was still a moment's hesitation. The king look coldly on
the affair, and the royal finances were absolutely drained by the war.
Some time must be given to replenish them. How could she draw
on an exhausted treasury for a measure to which the king was
adverse! St. Angel watched this suspense with trembling anxiety.
The next moment reassured him. With an enthusiasm worthy of
herself, and of the cause, Isabella exclaimed, " I undertake the en-
terprise for my own crown of Castile, and will pledge my private
jewels to raise the necessary funds." This was the proudest mo-
ment in the life of Isabella; it stamped her renown for ever as the
patroness of the discovery of the new world.

St. Angel, eager to secure this noble impulse, assured her majesty
that there would be no need of pledging her jewels, as he was ready
to advance the necessary funds. His offer was gladly accepted; the
funds really came from the coffers of Aragon ; seventeen thousand
florins were advanced by the accountant of St. Angel out of the
treasury of king Ferdinand. That prudent monarch, however,
took care to have his kingdom indemnified some few years after-
wards; for, in remuneration of this loan, a part of the first gold
brought by Columbus from the new world was employed in gilding
the vaults and ceilings of the royal saloon, in the grand palace of
Saragossa, in Aragon, anciently the Aljaferia, or abode of the
Moorish kings.*

Columbus had pursued his lonely journey across the Vega and
had reached the bridge of Pinos, about two leagues from Granada,
at the foot of the mountain of Elvira; a pass famous in the Moorish
wars for many a desperate encounter between the Christians and In-
fidels. Here he was overtaken by a courier from the queen, spur-
ring in all speed, who summoned him to return to Santa Fe. Co-
lumbus hesitated for a moment, being loth to subject himself again
to the delays and equivocations of the court. When he was in-
formed, however, of the sudden zeal for the enterprise excited in the
mind of the queen, and the positive promise she had given to under'
take it, he no longer felt a doubt, but, turning the reins of his mule,
hastened back with joyful alacrity to Santa Fe, confiding in the
noble probity of that princess.

• Bart. Leonardo de Argensola. Annales de Aragon, Lib. 1, Cap. 10.

T2 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Boot D.

CHAPTER VIII.

ARRANGEMENT WITH THE SPANISH SOVEREIGNS.
[1492.]

On arriving at Santa Fe, Columbus had an immediate audience
of the queen, and the benignity with which she received him atoned
for all past neglect. Her favourable countenance dispelled every
cloud of doubt and difficulty. The concurrence of the king was
readily obtained. His objections had been removed by the media-
tion of various persons, among whom is particularly mentioned his
grand chamberlain and favourite, Juan Cabrero; but it was princi-
pally through deference to the zeal displayed by the queen, that he
yielded his tardy concurrence. Isabella was thenceforward the soul
of this grand enterprise. She was prompted by lofty and generous
enthusiasm; while the king remained cold and calculating in this,
as in all his other undertakings.

One of the great objects held out by Columbus in his undertaking,
was the propagation of the Christian faith. He expected to arrive
at the extremity of Asia, at the vast and magnificent empire of the
Grand Khan, and to visit the dependent islands, of which he had
read such glowing accounts in the writings of Marco Polo. In
describing these opulent and semi-barbarous regions, he had re-
minded their majesties of the inclination manifested in former times
by the Grand Khan, to embrace the Christian faith; and of the
missions which had been sent by various pontiffs and pious sovereigns,.
to instruct him and his subjects in Catholic doctrines. He now
considered himself about to effect this great work. He contem-
plated that by means of his discovery an immediate intercourse
might be opened with this immense empire; that the whole might
speedily be brought into subjection to the church; and thus, as had
been foretold in Holy Writ, the light of revelation might be extended
to the remotest ends of the earth. Ferdinand listened to this sug-
gestion with complacency. He made his religion subservient to
his interests; and had found, on the recent conquest of Granada,
that, extending the sway of the church, might be made a laudable

Chap. VUL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. t^

means of extending his own dominions. According to the doctrines
of the day, every nation that refused to acknowledge the truths of
Christianity, was fair spoil for a Christian invader; and it is pro-
bable that Ferdinand was more stimulated by the accounts given
by Columbus of the wealth of Mangi, Cathay, and other provinces
belonging to the Grand Khan, than by any anxiety for the conver-
sion of him and his semi-barbarous subjects, Isabella had nobler
inducements. She was filled with pious zeal at the idea of effecting
such a great work of salvation. From different motives, therefore,
both of the sovereigns accorded with the views of Columbus in this
particular, and when he afterwards departed on his voyage, letters
were actually given him for the Grand Khan of Tartary.

The ardent enthusiasm of Columbus did not stop here. In the
free and unrestrained communications which were now permitted
him with the sovereigns, his visionary spirit kindled with anticipa-
tions of boundless wealth to be realized by his discoveries; and he
suggested that the treasures thus acquired, should be consecrated
to the pious purpose of rescuing the holy sepulchre of Jerusalem
from the power of the Infidels. The sovereigns smiled at this sally
of the imagination, but expressed themselves well pleased with it,
and assured him that even without the funds he anticipated, they
should be well disposed to that holy undertaking.* What the king
and queen, however, may have considered a mere sally of momen-
tary excitement, was a deep and cherished design of Columbus. It
is a curious and characterisftc fact which has never been particularly
noticed, that the recover}^ of the holy sepulchre was one of the great
objects of his ambition, meditated throughout the remainder of his
life, and solemnly provided for in his will. In fact, he considered it
as one of the great works for which he was chosen by heaven, as
an agent, and he afterwards looked upon his great discovery as but
a preparatory dispensation of providence to promote its accomplish-
ment.

A perfect understanding being thus effected with the sovereigns,
capitulations of an arrangement were ordered to be drawn out by
JPuan de Coloma, the royal secretary. They were to the following
effect :

1. That Columbus should have, for himself during his life, and
his heirs and successors for ever, the office of admiral in all the lands
and continents which he might discover or acquire in the Ocean

* Protests k vuestras Altezas que loda la ganancia desta mi empresa se gastase
en la conquista de Jerusalem, y vuestras altezas se rieron, y dijeron que les placia^
y que sin esto tenian aquella gana. Primer Viage de Colon. Navarrete, T. 1,
p. 117. (J

7* LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book U,

sea, with similar honours and prerogatives to those enjoyed by the
high Admiral of Castile in his district.

2. That he should be viceroy and governor general over all the
said lands and continents ; with the privilege of nominating three
candidates for the government of each island or province, one of
whom should be selected by the sovereigns.

3. That he should be entitled to reserve for himself one tenth of
all pearls, precious stones, gold, silver, spices, and all other articles
and merchandises, in whatever manner found, bought, bartered, or
gained within his admiralty, the costs being first deducted.

4. That he, or his lieutenant, should be the sole judge in all
causes and disputes arising out of traffic between those countries
and Spain : provided the high admiral of Castile had similar juris-
diction in his district.

5. That he might then, and at all after times, contribute an eighth
part of the expense in fitting out vessels to sail on this enterprise,
and receive an eighth part of the profits.

The last stipulation, which admits Columbus to bear an eighth of
the enterprise, was made in consequence of his indignant projEFer, on
being reproached with demanding ample emoluments, while incur-
ring no portion of the charge. He fulfilled this engagement through
the assistance of the Pinzons of Palos, and added a third vessel to
the armament. Thus, one eighth of the expense attendant on this
grand expedition, undertaken by a powerful nation, was actually
borne by the individual who conceived ft, and who likewise risked
his life on its success. *

The capitulations were signed by Ferdinand and Isabella at the
city of Santa Fe, in the Vega or plain of Granada, on the 17th of
April, 1492. A letter of privilege or commission to Columbus, of
similar purport, was drawn out in form, and issued by the sovereigns
in the city of Granada, on the 30th of the same month. In this the
dignities and prerogatives of viceroy and governor were likewise
made hereditary in his family ; and he and his heirs were authorised
to prefix the title of Don to their names ; a distinction accorded in
those days only to persons of rank and estate, though it has since
lost all value from being universally used in Spain.

All the royal documents issued on this occasion bore equally the
signatures of Ferdinand and Isabella, but her separate crown of
Castile defrayed all the expense, and during her life few persons,
except Castilians, were permitted to establish themselves in the new
territories.*

Charlevoix, Hist. St. Domingo, L. 1, p. 79.

Chaf. Vni.J CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 76

The port of Palos do Moguer in Andalusia, was fixed on as the
place where the necessary armament was to be fitted out. This
port, in consequence of some misconduct, had been condemned by
the royal council to serve the crown for one year, with two armed
caravels, A royal order was signed on the 30th of April, com-
manding the authorities of Palos to have the two caravels ready for
sea within ten days after receiving this notice, and to place them and
their crews at the disposal of Columbus. The latter was likewise
empowered to procure and fit out a third vessel. The crews of all
three were to receive the ordinary wages of seamen employed in
armed vessels, and to be paid four months in advance. They were
to sail in such direction as Columbus, under the royal authority,
should command, and were to obey him in all things, with merely
one stipulation, that neither he nor they were to go to St. George la
Mina, on the coast of Guinea, nor any other of the lately discovered
possessions of Portugal. A certificate of their good conduct, signed
by Columbus, was to be the discharge of their obligation to the
crown.*

Orders were likewise issued by the sovereigns, addressed to
the public authorities, and the people of all ranks and conditions,
in the maritime borders of Andalusia, commanding them to fur-
nish supplies and assistance of all kinds, at reasonable prices, for
the fitting out of the vessels: and penalties were denounced on such
as should cause any impediment. No duties were to be exacted for
any articles furnished tq the vessels ; and all criminal processes
against the person or property of any individual, engaged in the
expedition, was to be suspended during his absence and for two
months after his return, f

A home-felt mark of favour, characteristic of the kind and con-
siderate heart of Isabella, was accorded to Columbus before his de-
parture from the court. An albala, or letter patent, was issued by
the queen on the 8th of May, appointing his son Diego page to
prince Juan, the heir apparent, with an allowance for his support ;
an honour granted only to the sons of persons of distinguished
rank. J

Thus gratified in his dearest wishes, after a course of delays and
disappointments sufficient to have reduced any ordinary man to des-
pair, Columbus took leave of the court on the 12th of May, and set
out joyfully for Palos. Let those who are disposed to faint under
difficulties, in the prosecution of any great and worthy undertaking,

I'

* Navarrete, Collec. de Viages, T; 2, Document 6. _ J

Hdem. Documents 8, 9. tidem, ubi sup. Doc. 11.

76 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book II.

remembef that eighteen years elapsed after the time that Columbus
conceived his enterprise, before he was enabled to carry it into
effect; that the greater part of that time was past in almost hope-
less solicitation, amidst poverty, neglect, and taunting ridicule; that
the prima of his life had wasted away in the struggle, and that when
his perseverance was finally crowned with success, he was about his
i^ fifty-sixth year. His example ^ould encourage the enterprising

never to despair.

/ /v>-/ J ^h^/€6»r

CHAPTEH IX

lEFARATlONS FOR THE 1JXFE1>ITI0N AT THR PORT OF FAL09

11492.1

Columbus once more presented himself at the gate of the convent
of La Rabid a, but he now appeared in triumph. He was received
with open arms by the worthy Prior, and again became his guest,
during his sojourn at Palos.* The character and station of Juan
Perez gave him. great importance in the neighbourhood, and he ex-
erted it to the utmost in support of the desired enterprise. Attended
by this zealous friend, Columbus repaired on the 23d of May, to the
church of St. George in Palos. There the royal order for two cara-
vels to be furnished by the town and put at his disposition, was for-
mally read by the notary public of the place, in presence of the al-
caldes and regidors, and many of the inhabitants, and full compli-
ance was promised.!

When the nature (^ the intended expedition came to be known^
however, astonishment and a degree of horror prevailed throughout
the place. The inhabitants considered the ships and crews de-
manded of them in. the light of sacrifices, devoted to destruction..
The owners of vessels refused to furnish them for so desperate a ser-
vice, and the boldest seamen shrunk from such a wild and chimerical
cruise into the wilderness of the ocean. All the frightful tales and
fables, with which ignorance and superstition are prone to people
obscure and mysterious regions, were conjured up concerning the

• Oviedo, Cronica de las Indiafl,. L^ 2^ C. 5. \ Navarrete, Collec. de Viases.
T. 2, Doc. 7.

Chap. IX.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 77

unknown parts of the deep, and circulated by the gossips of Palos,
to deter any one from embarking in the enterprise.

Nothing can be a stronger evidence of the bold nature of this un-
dertaking, than the extreme dread with which it was regarded by a
maritime community, composed of some of the most adventurous
navigators of the age. Notwithstanding the peremptory tenor of the
royal order, and the promise of compliance on the part of the magis-
trates, weeks elapsed without any thing being done in fulfilment of
its demands. It was in vain that the worthy prior of La Rabida
backed the applications of Columbus with all his influence and elO'
quence; not a vessel was to be procured.

Upon this, more absolute mandates were issued by the sovereigns,
dated the 20th of June, ordering the magistrates of the coast of An-
dalusia to press iftto the service any vessels they might think proper,
belonging to Spanish subjects, and to oblige the masters and crews
to _sail with Columbus, in whatever direction he should be sent
by royal command. Juan de Penalosa, an officer of the royal
household, was sent to see that this order was properly complied
with, receiving two hundred maravedis a day, as long as he was oc-
cupied in the business, which sum, together with other penalties
expressed in the mandate, was to be exacted from such as should
be disobedient and delinquent. This letter was acted upon by
Columbus in Palos, and the neighbouring town of Moguer, but appa-
rently with as little success as the preceding one. The communi-
ties of those places were thrown into complete confusion ; alterca-
tions and disturbances took place, but nothing of consequence was
effected.

At length Martin Alonzo Pinzon, a rich and enterprising naviga ■
tor, who has already been mentioned, came forward and took a de
cided and personal interest in the expedition. What understanding
he had with Columbus as to his remuneration, does not appear. In
the testimony given many years afterwards, in the suit between Don
Diego, the son of Columbus, and the crown, it was affirmed by seve-
ral witnesses that Pinzon was to divide with him his share of the
profits ; but the evidence in that lawsuit was so full of contradictions
and palpable falsehoods, that it is difficult to ascertain the proportion
of truth which it may have contained. As no immediate profits
resulted from the expedition, no claim of the kind was brought for-
ward. Certain it is, that the assistance of Pinzon was most timely
and efficacious, and many of the witnesses in that suit concurred in

declaring that, but for him, it would have been impossible to fit out

G 2

78 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF {Boo« U.

the necessary annament. He and his brother Vicente Yanez Pin-
zon, likewise a navigator of great courage and ability, who after-
wards rose to distinction, possessed vessels, and had seamen in their
employ. They were related also to many of the seafaring inhabi-
tants of Palos and Moguer, and had great influence throughout the
neighbourhood. It is supposed that they supplied Columbus with
funds to pay the eighth share of the expense, which he was bound
to advance. They furnished, also, one, at least, of the ships, and
they resolved to take commands, and sail in the expedition. Their
example had a wonderful effect, and^ aided by their persuasions, in-
duced a great number of their relations and friends to embark; so
that through their strenuous exertions, the vessels were ready for
sea within a month after they had thus engaged in their equipment.*

After the great difficulties made by various courts in furnishing
this expedition, it is surprising how inconsiderable an armament waa
required. It is evident that Columbus had reduced his requisitions
to the narrowest limits, lest any great expense should cause impedi-
ment. Three small vessels were apparently all that he had requested.
Two of them were light barques, called caravels, not superior to
river and coasting craft of more modem days. Representations of
this class of vessels exist in old prints and paintings. f They are
delineated as open, and without deck in the centre, but built up high
at the prow and stern, with forecastles and cabins for the accom^
modation of the crew. Peter MartjT, the learned contemporary
of Columbus, says that only one of the three vessels was decked. if
The smallness of the vessels was considered an advantage by Colum-
bus, in a voyage of discovery, enabling him to run close to the
shores, and to enter shallow rivers and harbours. In his third voyage,
when coasting the gulf of Paria, be complained of the size of his
ship, being nearly a hundred tons burthen. But that such long and
perilous expeditions, into unknown seas, should be undertaken in
vessels without decks, and that they shwild live through the violent
tempests, by which they were frequently assailed, remain among the
singular circumstances of these daring voyages.

During the equipment of the vesselSj troubles and difficulties con-
tinued to arise. One of the vessels, named the Pinta, together with
its owners and people, had been pressed into the service by the
magistrates, under the arbitrary mandate of the sovereigns; and it
was a striking instance of the despotic authority exercised over com-

* Evidence of Arias Perez, in the lawsuit.

i See Illustrations, article, " Ships of Columbus." $ P. Martyr, Decad 1, L. 1.

CHAf . IX.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. TH

merce in those times, that respectable individuals should thus be
compelled to engage, with persons and ships, in what appeared to
them a mad and desperate enterprise. The owners of this vessel,
Gomez Rascon and Christoval Quintero, showed the greatest
repugnance to the voyage, and took an active part in certain quarrels
and contentions which occurred.* Various mariners had likewise
been compelled to embark in the other ships. All kinds of obstacles
were thrown in the way, to retard or defeat the voyage, by these
people and their friends. The caulkers employed upon the vessels
did their work in a careless and imperfect manner, and on being
commanded to do it over again they absconded.^ Some of the
seamen who had enlisted willingly, repented of their hardihood, or
were dissuaded by their relatives, and sought to retract; others
deserted and concealed themselves. Every thing had to be effected
by the most harsh and arbitrary measures, and in defiance of popular
prejudice and opposition.

At length, by the beginning of August, every difficulty was
vanquished, and the vessels were ready for sea. The largest, which
had been prepared expressly for the voyage, and was decked, was
called the Santa Maria: on board of this ship Columbus hoisted his
flag. The second, called the Pinta, was commanded by Martin
Alonzo Pinzon, accompanied by his brother Francisco Martin, as pilot.
The third, called the Nina, had latine sails, and was commanded
by the third of the brothers, Vicente Yanez Pinzon. There were
three other piiots, Sancho Ruiz, Pedro Alonzo Nino, and Bartolomeo
Roldan. Roderigo Sanchez of Segovia was inspector general of the
armament, and Diego de Arana, a native of Cordova, chief alguazil.
Roderigo de Escobar went as royal notary, an officer always sent in
the armaments of the crown, to take official notes of all transactions.
There were also a physician and a surgeon, together with various
private adventurers, several servants, and ninety mariners; making,
in all, one hundred and twenty persons.^

The squadron being ready to put to sea, Columbus, impressed with
the solemnity of his undertaking, confessed himself to the friar Juan
Perez, and partook of the sacrament of the communion. His
example was followed by his officers and crew, and they entered
upon their enterprise full of awe, and with the most devout and
affecting ceremonials, committing themselves to the especial guid-
ance and protection of heaven. A deep gloom was spread over the

• Journal of Columb. Navarrete, T. 1, p. 4. Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 15,

t Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 77. MS,

I Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming, L. 1, Munos. Hist. Nuevo Mundo, L. 2.

m LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book H.

whole community of Palos at their departure, for almost every one
had some relative or friend on board of the squadron. The spirits of
the seamen, already depressed by their own fears, were still more
cast down at the affliction of those they left behind, who took leave
of them with tears and lamentations, and dismal forebodings, as of
men they were never to behold again.

LIFE AND VOYAGES

or

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

BOOK III.

CHAPTER I.

DEPARTURE OF COLUMBUS ON HIS FIRST VOYAGE
[1492.]

When Columbus set sail on the memorable voyag-e that was to end
in the discovery of a world, he commenced a regular journal of the
daily events intended for the inspection of the Spanish sovereigns.
Like all his other transactions, it evinces how deeply he was im-
pressed with the grandeur and solemnity of his enterprise. He pro*
posed to keep it, as he afterwards observed, in the manner of the
commentaries of Cesar. It opened with a stately prologue^ where-
in, in the following words, were set forth the motives and views
which led to his expedition.

In nomine D. N. Jesu Christi. Whereas most Christian, most
high, most excellent and most powerful princes, king and queen of
the Spains, and of the islands of the sea, our sovereigns, in the pre-
sent year of m^ after your highnesses had put an end to the war
with the Moors who ruled in Europe, and had concluded that war-
fare in the great city of Granada, where, on the second of January,
of this present year, I saw the royal banners of your highnesses
placed by force of arms on the towers of the Alhambra, which is the
fortress of that city, and beheld the Moorish king salty forth from the
gates of the city, and kiss the royal hands of your highnesses and of
my lord the prince; and immediately in that same month, in conse-
quence of the information which I had given to your highnesses of
the lands of India, and of a prince who is called the Grand Khan,
which is to say in our language, king of kings; how that many
times he and his predecessors had sent to Rome to entreat for doctors
of our holy faith, to instruct him in the same; and that the holy

Vol. I 6

^hb^9-.»M LmfhxAJcA^ \ /j\

t^ I 6

82 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book. HL

father had never provided him with them, and thus so many people
were lost, believing in idolatries, and imbibing doctrines of perdition ;
therefore your highnesses, as catholic Christians and princes, lovers
and promoters of the holy Christian faith, and enemies of the sect of
Mahomet, and of all idolatries and heresies, determined to send me,
Christopher Columbus, to the said parts of India, to see the said
princes, and the people and lands, and discover the nature and dis-
position of them all, and the means to be taken for the conversion of
them to our holy faith; and ordered that I should not go by land to
the east, by which it is the custom to go, but by a voyage to the
west, by which course, unto the present time, we do not know for
certain that any one hath passed. Your highnesses, therefore, after
having expelled all the Jews from your kingdoms and territories,
commanded me, in the same month of January, to proceed with a
sufficient armament to the said parts of India; and for this purpose
bestowed great favours upon me, ennobling me, that thenceforward I
might style myself Don, appointing me high admiral of the Ocean
sea, and perpetual viceroy and governor of all the islands and conti-
nents I should discover and gain, and which henceforward may be
discovered and gained in the Ocean sea; and that my eldest son
should succeed me, and so on from generation to generation for ever.
I departed, therefore, from the city of Granada, on Saturday the 12th
of May, of the same year 1492, to Palos, a seaport, where I armed
three ships, well calculated for such service, and sailed from that port
well furnished with provisions and with many seamen, on Friday the
3d of August, of the same year, half an hour before sunrise, and took
the route for the Canary islands of your highnesses, to steer my
course thence, and navigate until I should arrive at the Indias, and
deliver the embassy of your highnesses to those princes, and accom-
plish that which you had commanded. For this purpose I intend
to write during this voyage, very punctually fronroay to day, all
that I may do, and see, and experience, as will hereafter be seen.
Also, my sovereign princes, beside describing each night all that has
occurred in the day, and in the day the navigation of the night, I
propose to make a chart, in which I will set down the waters and
lands of the Ocean sea in their proper situations under their bearings;
and further, to compose a book, and illustrate the whole in picture
by latitude from the equinoctial, and longitude from the west; and
upon the whole it will be essential that I should forget sleep and
attend closely to the navigation to accomplish these things, which
will be a great labour."*

* JVavarrete, Collec. Viag. T. l, p. 1.

Chap. LI CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. ' 83

Thus are formally and expressly stated by Columbus the objects
of this extraordinary voyage. The material facts still extant of his
journal, will be found incorporated in the present work.*

It was on Friday the 3d of August, 1492, early in the morning, that
Columbus set sail from the bar of Saltes, a small island formed by
the arms of the Odiel, in front of the town of Huelva, steering in a.
southwesterly direction for the Canary islands, from whence it was
his intention to strike due west. As a guide by which to sail, he
had prepared a map or chart, improved upon that sent him by Paolo
Toscanelli. Neither of those now exist, but the globe or planisphere
finished by Martin Behem in this year of the admiral's firsFvoyage
is still extant, and furnishes an idea of what the chart of Columbus
must have been. It exhibits the coasts of Europe and Africa from
the south of Ireland to the end of Guinea, and opposite to them, on
the other side of the Atlantic, the extremity of Asia, or as it was
termed, India. Between them is placed the island of Cipango, or
Japan, which, according to Marco Polo, lay fifteen hundred miles
distant from the Asiatic coast. In his computations Columbus ad-
vanced this island about a thousand leagues too much to the east,
supposing it to be about in the situation of Florida ;t and at this
island he hoped first to arrive.

The exultation of Columbus at finding himself, after so many
years of baffled hope, at length fairly launched on his grand enter-
prise, was checked by his want of confidence in the resolution and
perseverance of his crews. As long as he remained within reach of
Europe there was no security that in a moment of repentance and
alarm, they might not unanimously renounce the prosecution of the
voyage, and insist on a return. Symptoms soon appeared to warrant
his apprehensions. On the third day, the Pinta made signal of dis-
tress ; her rudder was discovered to be broken, and unhung. This

* An abstract of this journal, made by Las Casas, haS recently been discovered,
and is published in the first volume of the collection of Senor Navarrete. Many
passages of this abstract had been previously inserted by Las Casas in his History
of the Indias, and the same journal had been copiously used by Fernando Columbus
in the history of his father. In the present account of this voyage, the author has
made use of the journal contained in the work of Senor Navarrete, the manuscript
history of Las Casas, the History of the Indias by Herrera, the Life of the Ad-
miral by his son, the Chronicle of the Indias by Oviedo, the manuscript history of
Ferdinand and Isabella by Andres Bernaldes, curate of Los Palacios, and the Let-
ters, and Decades of the Ocean Sea, by Peter Martyr ; all of whom, with the ex •
ception of Herrera, were contemporaries and acquaintances of Columbus. These
are the principal authorities which have been consulted, though scattered lights
have occasionally been obtained from other sources.

t Malte-Brun, Geograph. Universelle, T. 2, p. 283.

81 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book HI.

Columbus surmised to be done through the contrivance of the own-
ers of the caravel, Gromez Rascon and Christoval Q-uintero, to disable
their vessel, and cause her to be left behind. As has already been
observed, they had been pressed into the service greatly against their
will, and their caravel seized upon for the expedition, in conformity
to the royal orders.

Columbus was much disturbed at this occurrence. It gave him a
foretaste of further difficulties to be apprehended from crews partly
enlisted on compulsion, and all full of doubt and foreboding. Trivial
obstacles might in the present critical stage of his voyage, spread
panic and mutiny through his ships, and entirely defegit the purpose
of the expedition.

The wind was blowing strongly at the time, so that he could not
render assistance without endangering his own vessel. Fortunately,
Martin Alonzo Pinzon commanded the Pinta; and being an adroit
and able seaman, he succeeded in securing the rudder with cords, so
as to bring the vessel into management. This, however, was but a
temporary and inadequate expedient ; the fastenings gave way again
on the following day, and the other ships were obliged to shorten
sail until the rudder could be secured.

This damaged state of the Pinta, as well as her being in a leaky
condition, determined the admiral to touch at the Canary isl-
ands, and seek a vessel to replace her. He considered himself not
far from those islands, though a different opinion was entertained by
the pilots of the squadron. The event proved his superiority in
taking observations and keeping reckonings, for they came in sight
of the Canaries on the morning of the 9th.

They were detained upwards of three weeks among these islands,
seeking in vain to find another vessel. They were obliged, there-
fwre, to make a new rudder for the Pinta, and repair her as well as
they were able for the voyage. The latine sails of the Nina were
also altered into square sails, that she might work more steadily and
securely, and be able to keep company with the other vessels.

While sailing among these islands, they passed in sight of Tene
riffe, whose lofty peak was sending out volumes of flame and smoke.
The crew were terrified at sight of this eruption, being ready to taka
alarm at any extraordinary phenomenon, and to construe it into a
disastrous portent. Columbus took great pains to dispel theii
apprehensions, explaining the natural causes of those volcanic fires^
and verifying his explanations by citing Mount Etna, and other well
known volcanoes.

While taking in wood and water and provisions, in the island
erf Gomera, a vessel arrived from Ferro, which reported thS,t three

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS, B$

Portuguese caravels had been seen hovering off that island, with the
intention, it was said, of capturing Columbus. The admiral sus-
pected some hostile stratagem on the part of the king of Portugal,
in revenge for his having embarked in the service of Spain; he there-
fore lost no time in putting to sea, anxious to get far from those
islands, and out of the track of navigation, trembling lest something
might occur to defeat his expedition, commenced under such inauspi-
cious circumstances.

CHAPTER II.

GONTINUATIOK OF THE VOYAGE FIRST NOTICE OF THE VARIA

TION OF THE NEEDLE.

[1492.]

Early in the morning of the sixth of September, Columbus set
sail from the island of Gomera, and now might be said first to strike
into the region of discovery; taking leave of these frontier islands of
the old world, and steering westward for the unknown parts of the
Atlantic. For three days, however, a profound calm kept the vessels
loitering with flagging sails, within a short distance of the land.
This was a tantalizing delay to Columbus who was impatient to find
himself launched far upon the ocean, out of sight of either land or
sail ; which in the pure atmospheres of these latitudes may be descried
at an immense distance. On the following Sunday, the 9th of Sep-
tember, at daybreak,he beheld Ferro, the last of the Canary islands,
about nine leagues distant. This was the island from whence the
Portuguese caravels had been seen ; he was therefore in the very
neighbourhood of danger. Fortunately a breeze sprang up with
the sun, their sails were once more filled, and in the course of the
day the heights of Ferro gradually faded from the horizon.

On losing sight of this last trace of land, the hearts of the crews
failed them. They seemed literally to have taken leave of the world.
Behind them was every thing dear to the heart of man ; country,
family, friends, life itself : before them every thing was chaos, mys-
tery, and peril. In the perturbation of the moment, they despaired
of ever more seeing their homes. Many of the rugged seamen shed

H

B6 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book IIL

tears, and some broke into loud lamentations. The admiral tried in
every way to soothe their distress, and to inspire them with his own
glorious anticipations. He described to them the magnificent
countries to which he was about to conduct them : the islands of the
Indian seas teeming with gold and precious stones ; the regions of
Mangi and Cathay, with their cities of unrivalled wealth and splen-
dour. Fie promised them land and riches, and every thing that could
arouse their cupidity, or inflame their imaginations, nor were these
promises made for purposes of mere deception ; Columbus certainly
believed that he should realize them all.

He now issued orders to the commanders of the other vessels, that,
in the event of separation by any accident, they should continue
directly westward; but that after sailing seven hundred leagues,
they should lay by from midnight until daylight, as at about that dis-
tance he confidently expected to find land. In the meantime, as he
thought it possible he might not discover land within the distance
thus assigned, and as he foresaw that the vague terrors already
awakened among the seamen would increase with the space which
intervened between them and their homes, he commenced a stratagem
which he continued throughout the voyage. He kept two reckon-
ings : one correct, in which the true way of the ship was noted, and
which was retained in secret for his own government : in the other,
which was open to general inspection, a number of leagues was daily
subtracted from the sailing of the ship, so that the crews were kept
in ignorance of the real distance they had advanced.*

On the 11th of September, when about one hundred and fifty
leagues west of Ferro, they fell in with a part of a mast, which
from its size appeared to have belonged to a vessel of about a hun-
dred and twenty tons burthen ; and which had evidently been a long
time in the water. The crews, tremblingly alive to every thing that
could excite their hopes or fears, looked with rueful eye upon this
wreck of some unfortunate voyager, drifting ominously at the en-
trance of those unknown seas.

On the 13th of September, in the evening, being about two hun-
dred leagues from the island of Ferro, Columbus for the first time
noticed the variation of the needle ; a phenomenon which had never
before been remarked. He perceived about nightfall, that the needle,

• * It has been erroneously stated that Columbus kept two journals. It was merely
in the reckoning, or log-book, that he deceived the crew. His journal was entirely
private, and intended for his own use and the perusal of the sovereigns. In a let-
ter written from Granada, in 1503, to Pope Alexander VII. he says tJiat he had
kept an account of his voyages, in the style of the Commentaries of Cesar,
which he intended to submit to his holiness.

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 81

instead of pointing to the north star varied about half a point, or
between five and six degrees to the northwest, and still more on the
following morning. Struck with this circumstance, he observed it
attentively for three days, and found that the variation increased as
he advanced. He at first made no mention of this phenomenon,
knowing how ready his people were to take alarm, but it soon attracted
the attention of the pilots, and filled them with consternation. It
seemed as if the very laws of nature were changing as they advanced,
and that they were entering another world, subject to unknown
influences.* They apprehended that the compass was about to lose
its mysterious virtues, and without this guide, what was to become
of them in a vast and trackless ocean?

Columbus tasked his science and ingenuity for reasons with which
to allaj their terror. He observed that the direction of the needle
was not to the polar star, but to some fixed and invisible point. The
variation, therefore, was not caused by any fallacy in the compass,
but by the movement of the north star itself, which, like the other
heavenly bodies, had its changes a.nd revolutions, and every day
described a circle round the pole. The high opinion which the pilots
entertained of Columbus as a profound astronomer, gave weight to
this theory, and their alarm subsided. As yet the solar system
of Copernicus was unknown: the explanation of Columbus there-
fore, was highly plausible and ingenious, and it shows the vivacity
of his mind, ever ready to meet the emergency of the moment.
The theory may at first have been advanced merely to satisfy the
minds of others, but Columbus appears subsequently to have remained
satisfied with it himself The phenomenon has now become familiar
to us, but we still continue ignorant of its cause. It is one of those
mysteries of nature, open to daily observation and experiment, and
apparently simple from their familiarity, but which on investigation
make the human mind conscious of its limits; baffling the experience
of the practical, and humbling the pride of science.

* Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 6

88 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IH.

CHAPTER III.

OONTZNVATION OF THE VOYAGE VARIOUS TERRORS OF TBB

SEAMEN.

[1492.]

On the 14th of September, the vojagers were rejoiced by tiie sight
of what they considered harbingers of land. A heron and a tropicarl
bird called the Rabo de Junco,* hovered about the ships, neither of
which are supposed to venture far to sea. On the following night
they were struck with awe at beholding a meteor, or as Columbus
calls it in his journal,, a great flame of fire, which seemed to fall from
the sky into the sea, about four or five leagues distant. These
meteors,, common in warm climates, and especially under the tropics^
are always seen in the serene azure &ky of those latitudes, falling as
it were from the heavens; but never beneath a cloud. In the trans*-
parent atmosphere of one of those beautiful nights, where every star
shines with the purest lustre, they often leave a luminous train
behind them which lasts for twelve or fifteen seconds, and may well
be compared to a flame^

The wind had hitherto been favourable, with occasional though
transient clouds and showers. They had iTiade great progress each
day, though Columbus, according to his secret plan, contrived to
suppress several leagues in the daily reckoning left open to the crew.

They had now arrived within the influence of the trade wind,
which following the sun. Wows steadily from east to west be-
tween the tropics, and sweeps over a few adjoining^ decrees of the
ocean. With this propitious breeze directly aft, they were wafted
gently but speedily over a tranquil sea, so that for many days they
did not shift a sail. Columbus perpetually recurs to the bland and
temperate serenity of the weather, which in this tract of the ocean is
soft and refreshing without being cool. In his artless and expressive
language he compares the pure and balmy mornings to those of
April in Andalusia, and observes that they wanted hut the son^ of

• The water-wagtaiL

Chap. III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 89

the nightingale to complete the illusion. " He had reason to say
so," observes the venerable Las Casas, " for it is marvellous the
suavity which we experience when half way towards these Indias;
and the more the ships approach these lands so much more do they
perceive the temperance and softness of the air, the clearness of the
sky, and the amenity and fragrance sent forth from the groves and
forests; much more certainly than in April in Andalusia."*

They now began to see large patches of herbs and weeds floating
on the surface of the water, all drifting from the west, and increasing
in quantity as they advanced. Some of these weeds were such as
grow about rocks, others such as are produced in rivers; some were
yellow and withered, others so green as to have apparently been
recently washed from land. On one of these patches was a live
crab, which Columbus carefully preserved. They saw also a white
tropical bird of a kind which never sleeps upon the sea. Tunny fish
also played about the ships, one of which was killed by the crew of
the Nina. Columbus now called to mind the account given by
Aristotle of certain ships of Cadiz, which, coasting the shores out-
side of the straits of Gibraltar, were driven westward by an impetu-
ous east wind, until they reached a certain part of the ocean where
it was covered with vast fields of weeds, resembling sunken islands,
and among which they beheld many tunny fish. He supposed him-
self arrived in this weedy sea, as it had been called, from which the
ancient mariners had turned back in dismay, but which he regarded
with animated hope, as indicating the vicinity of land. Not that
he had any idea of yet reaching the object of his search, the eastern
end of Asia, for according to his computation he had come but three
hundred and sixty leaguesf since leaving the Canary islands, and
he placed the main land of India much farther on.

On the 18th of September the same weather continued; a soft
steady breeze from the east filled every sail, while, to use the words
of Columbus, the sea was as calm as the Guadalquiver at Seville.
He had fancied that he perceived the water of the sea to grow
fresher as he advanced, and he noticed this as a proof of the superior
sweetness and purity of the air.J

The crews were all in high spirits, each ship striving to get in the
advance, and every seaman straining his eager gaze, to descry the
blue line of land rising above the horizon; for, besides the natural

* Las Casas, Hist Ind. L. 1, C. 36, MS.

tOf twenty to the degree of latitude, the unity of distance used throughout
thi? work,
t Las Casas, Hist, Ind, L, 1, Cap. 36, tt q

90 UPE AND VOYAGES OF Book ffl-

emulation to announce such joyful and triumphant tidings, each
one was stimulated by an anxiety to gain a pension of thirty
crowns,* ensured by the sovereigns to the fortunate individual who
should first discover land. Martin Alonzo Pinzon crowded all
canvas, and, as the Pinta was a fast sailer, he generally kept the
lead. In the afternoon he hailed the admiral and informed him,
that, from the flight of a great number of birds, and from the appear-
ance of the northern horizon, he thought there was land in that
direction.

There was in fact a cloudiness in the north, such as often hangs
over land; and at sunset it assumed such shapes and masses that
many fancied they beheld islands. There was a universal wish,
therefore, to steer for that quarter. Columbus, however, was per-
suaded that they were mere illusions. Every one who has made a
sea voyage must have witnessed the deceptions caused by clouds
resting upon the horizon, especially about sunset and sunrise; which
the eye, assisted by the imagination and desire, easily converts inta
the wished for land. This is particularly the case within the tro-
pics, where the clouds at sunset assume the most singular appear-
ances.

On the following day there were drizzling showers, unaccompa-
nied bj^ wind, which Columbus considered favourable signs; two
pelicans also flew on board the ship^ birds which he observed, sel-
dom fly twenty leagues from land. He sounded, therefore, with a
line of two hundred fathoms, but found no bottom. He supposed he
might be passing between islands, which lay both to the north and
south; but he was unwilling to waste the present favouring breeze
by going in search of them; beside, he had confidently affirmed that
land was to be found by keeping steadfastly to the west; his whole
expedition had been founded on such a presumption; he should, there-
fore, risk all credit and authority with his people were he to appear to
doubt and waver, and to go groping blindly from point to point of
the compass. He resolved, therefore, to keep one bold course always
westward, until he should reach the coast of India; and afterwards,
if adviseable, to seek these islands on his return.!

Notwithstanding the precaution which had been taken to keep
the people ignorant of the distance they had sailed, they were now
growing extremely uneasy at the length of the voyage. They had
advanced much farther west than ever man had sailed before, and

* Ekiuivalent to one hundred and seventeen dollars of the present day.
t Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 20. Extracts from Journal of CoUunb. Nayarret*
T. 1, p. 16.

Ch.p. III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 91

though already beyond the reach of succour, still they continued
daily leaving vast tracts of ocean behind them, and pressing onward
and onward into that apparently boundless abyss. It is true, they
had been flattered by various indications of land, and still others
were occurring ; but all mocked them with vain hopes ; after being
hailed with a transient joy they passed away, one after another,
and the same interminable expanse of sea and sky continued
to extend before them. Even the favourable wind, which seemed as
if providentially sent to waft them to the new world, with such bland
and gentle breezes, was now conjured by their ingenious fears into a
singular cause of alarm ; for they began to imagine that the wind,
in these se<is, always prevailed from the east, and if so, would never
permit them to return to Spain.

Columbus endeavoured in every way to soothe these rising fear^
sometimes by argument and expostulation, sometimes by awakening
fresh hopes, and pointing out new signs of land. On the twentieth
of September, the wind veered with light breezes from the southwest,
These, though adverse to their progress, had a cheering effect upon
the people, as they proved that the wind did not always prevail from
the east.* Several birds also visited the ships; three of which were
of a small kind which keep about groves and orchards, and which
came singing in the morning, and flew away again in the evening.
Their song was wonderfully cheering to the hearts of the dismayed
mariners, who hailed it as the voice of land. The larger fowl they
observed were strong of wing, and might venture far to sea, but such
small birds were too feeble to fly far, and their singing showed that
they were not exhausted by their flight.

On the following day there was either a profound calm, or light
winds from the southwest. The sea, as far as the eye could reach,
was covered with weeds; a phenomenon, often observed in this part
of the ocean, which has sometimes the appearance of a vast inundated
meadow. This has been attribuieu lu ii.imense quantities of sub-
marine plants, which grow at the bottom of the sea until ripe, when
they are detached by the motion of the waves and currents, and rise
to the surface.! These fields of weeds were at first regarded with
great satisfaction, but at length they became, in many places, so
dense and matted, as in some degree to impede the sailing of the
ships which, must have been under very little headway. The crews,

* Mucho me fue necesario este viento contrario, porque mi gente andaban muy
estimulados, que pensaban que no ventaban estos mares vienios para volver 4 Es-
pana. Primer Viage de Colon. Navarrete, T. 1, p. 12.

t Humboldt, Personal Narrative, Book 1, C. 1.

92 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IU.

ever ready to conceive the most absurd alarm, now called to mind
some tale about the frozen ocean, where ships were said to be some-
times fixed immoveable. They endeavoured, therefore, to avoid as
much as possible these floating masses, lest some disaster of the kind
might happen to themselves.* Others considered these weeds as
proof that the sea was growing shallower, and began to talk of lurk-
ing rocks, and shoals, and treacherous quicksands; and of the danger
of running aground, as it were, in the midst of the ocean, where their
vessels might rot and fall to pieces, far out of the track of human aid,
and without any shore where the crews might take refuge. They
had evidently some confused notion of the ancient story of the sunken
island of Atalantis, and feared that they were arriving at that part
of the ocean where navigation was said to be obstructed by drowned
lands, and the ruins of an ingulphed country.

To dispel these fears, the admiral had frequent recourse to the lead,
but though he sounded with a deep-sea line, he still found no bottom.
The minds of the crews however had gradually become diseased.
They were full of vague terrors and superstitious fancies: thej^ con-
strued every thing into a cause of alarm, and harassed their com-
mander by incessant murmurs.

For three days there was a continuance of light summer airs from
the southward and westward, and the sea was as smooth as a mirror.
A whale was seen heaving up its huge form at a distance, which
Columbus immediately pointed out as a favourable indication,
affirming that these fish were generally in the neighbourhood
of land. The crews, however, became uneasy at the calmness of the
weather. They observed that the contrary winds which they
experienced were transient and "unsteady, and so light as not to ruffle
the surface of the sea, which maintained a sluggish calm like a lake
of dead water. Every thing differed, they said, in these strange
regions from the world to which they had been accustomed. The
only winds which prevailed with any constancy and force, were
from the east, and they had not power to disturb the torpid stillness
of the ocean; there was a risk, therefore, either of perishing amidst
stagnant and shoreless waters, or of being prevented, by contrary
winds, from ever returning to their native country.

Columbus continued with admirable patience to reason with these
absurd fancies; observing that the calmness of the sea must undoubt-
edly be caused by the vicinity of land in the quarter from whence
the wind blew, which, therefore, had not space sufficient to act upon
the surface, and to heave up large waves, There is nothing, how-

♦Hist. del Almirante, Cap. 18,

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 93

ever, that renders men so deaf to reason as the influence of terror,
which multipHes and varies the forms of ideal danger, a thousand
limes faster than the most active wisdom can dispel them. The
more Columbus argued, the more boisterous became the murmurs
of his crew, until, on Sunday the 25th of September, there came on
a heavy swell of the sea, unaccompanied by wind. This is a
phenomenon that often occurs in the broad ocean, being either the
expiring undulations of some past gale, or the movement given to the
sea by some distant current of wind; it was, nevertheless, regarded
with astonishment by the mariners, and dispelled the imaginary
terrors occasioned by the calm.

Columbus, who as usual considered himself under the immediate
eye and guardianship of heaven in this solemn enterprise, intimates
in his journal that this swelling of the sea seemed providentially
ordered to allay the rising clamours of his crew; comparing it to that
which so miraculously aided Moses when conducting the children
of Israel out of the captivity of Egypt.*

CHAPTER IV.

CONTINUATION OF THE VOYAGE DISCOVERY OF LANK

[1492.]

The situation of Columbus was daily becoming more and more
critical. In proportion as he approached the regions where he
expected to find land, the impatience of his crews augmented. The
favourable signs which had increased his confidence, were now
derided by them as delusive; and there was danger of their rebelling,
and obliging him to turn back, when on the point of realizing the
object of all his labours. They beheld themselves with dismay still
wafted onward, over the boundless wastes of what appeared to them

* " Comola mar estuviese mansa y liana murmuraba la gente diciendo que, pues
por alii no habia mar grande que nunca ventaria para volver k Espana; pero
despues alz6se mucho la mar y sin viento, que los asombraba ; por lo cual dice aqur
el Almirante ; asi que muy necesario mefue la mar alta^ que no parecio, sdvo d
Heinpo de los Judios cuando salieron de Egipto contra Moyses que los sacaba de c<^
fivmo." Journal of Colomb. Navarrete, T. X.

94 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book HI.

a mere watery desert, surrounding the habitable world. What was
to become of them should their provisions fail? Their ships were too
weak and defective even for the great voyage they had already
made; but if they were still to press forward, adding at every
moment to the immense expanse which already divided them from
land, how should they ever be able to return, having no port where
they might victual and refit?

In this way they fed each others' discontents, gathering together
in the retired parts of the ship, at first in little knots of two and three,
which gradually increased and became formidable, joining together,
and strengthening each other in mutinous opposition to the admiral.
They exclaimed against him as an ambitious desperado, who in
a mad phantasy had determined to do something extravagant to
render himself notorious. What to him were their sufferings and
dangers ; when he was evidently content to sacrifice his own life for
the chance of distinction ! To continue on, in such a mad expedi-
tion, was to become the authors of their own destruction. What
obligation bound them to persist; or when were the terms of their
agreement to be considered as fulfilled? They had already sailed
far beyond the limits that man had ventured before; they had
penetrated into remote seas, untraversed by a sail. How much
farther were they to go in quest of a mere imaginary land? Were
they to sail on until they perished, or until all return became impossi-
ble? Who, on the other hand, would blame them, were they to
consult their safety, and turn their course homeward, before it was
yet too late? Would they not rather be extolled for their courage in
having undertaken such an enterprise, and their hardihood in persist-
ing in it so far? As to any complaints which the admiral might
make of their returning against his will, they would be without
weight; for he was a foreigner, a man without friends or influence.
His schemes had been condemned by the learned as idle and
visionary, and had been discountenanced by people of all ranks; he
had, therefore, no party on his side; but rather a large number whose
pride of opinion would be gratified by his failure.*

Such are some of the reasonings by which these men prepared
themselves for an open opposition to the prosecution of the voyage;
and when we consider the natural fire of the Spanish character,
impatient of control, and the peculiar nature of these crews, com-
posed in a great part of men sailing on compulsion, we may easily
imagine the constant danger there was of open and 'desperate rebel-
lion. Some there were who did not scruple at the most atrocious

• Hist del Almirante, C. 19. Herrera. Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, L. 1, C. 10.

Ghap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 96

instigations. They proposed, as a mode of silencing all after com*
plaints of the admiral, that should he refuse to turn back, they should
throw him into the sea, and give out on their arrival in Spain, that
he had fallen overboard, while contemplating the stars, and the signs
of the heavens, with his astronomical instruments; a report which
no one would have either the inclination or the means to controvert.*

Columbus was not ignorant of these mutinous intentions, but he
kept a serene and steady countenance; soothing some with gentle
words, stimulating the pride or the avarice of others, and openly
menacing the most refractory with signal punishment, should they
do any thing to impede the voyage.

On the 25th of September, the wind again became favourable, and
they were able to resume their course directly to the west. The airs
being light, and the sea calm, the vessels sailed near to each other,
and Columbus had much conversation with Martin Alonzo Pinzon,
on the subject of a chart which the former had sent three days before
on board of the Pinta. Pinzon thought that, according to the indica-
tions of the map, they ought to be in the neighbourhood of Cipango,
and the other islands which the admiral had therein delineated.
Columbus partly entertained the same idea, but thought it possible
that the ships might have been borne out of their track by the pre-
valent currents, or that they had not come so far as the pilots had
reckoned. He desired that the chart might be returned, and Pin-
zon, tying it to the end of a cord, flung it on board to him. While
Columbus, his pilot, and several of his experienced mariners were
studying the map, and endeavouring to make out from it their actual
position, they were aroused by a shout from the Pinta, and looking
up beheld Martin Alonzo Pinzon mounted on the stern of his vessel,
who cried with a loud voice, "Land] land! Senor, I claim my
reward !" pointing at the same time to the southwest, where there
was indeed an appearance of land at about twenty-five leagues dis-
tance. Upon this Columbus threw himself upon his knees and
returned thanks to God, and Martin Alonzo repeated the Gloria
in excelsis, in which he was loudly joined by his own crew and that
of the admiral.f

The seamen now mounted to the mast head, or climbed about the
rigging, and strained their eyes towards the southwest: all con-
firmed the assurance of land. The conviction became so strong,
and the joy of the people so ungovernable, that Columbus found it
necessary to vary from his usual course, and stand all night to the

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 19.

t Journal of Columb. primer viage. Navarrete, T. 1.

M LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book IIL

southwest. The morning light, however, put an end to all their
hopes, as to a dream. The fancied land proved to be nothing but an
evening cloud, and had vanished in the night. With dejected hearts
they once more resumed their western course, from which Columbus
would never have varied, but in compliance with their clamorous
wishes.

For several days more they continued on with the same propitious
breeze, tranquil sea, and mild, delightful weather. The water was so
calm that the sailors amused themselves with swimming about the
vessels. Dolphins began to abound, and flying fish darting into the
air fell upon the decks. The continued signs of land diverted the
attention of the crews, and insensibly beguiled them onward.

On the first of October, according to the reckoning of the pilot
of the admiral's ship, they had come five hundred and eighty leagues
west since leaving the Canary islands. The reckoning which
Columbus showed the crew was five hundred and eighty four; but
the real reckoning which he kept privately was seven hundred and
seven.* On the following day the weeds floated from east to west,
and on the third day no birds were to be seen.

The crews now began to fear that they had passed between
islands, from one to the other of which the birds had been flying.
Columbus had also some doubts of the kind, but refused to alter his
westward course. The people began again to utter murmurs and
menaces; but on the following day they were visited by such flights
of birds, and the various indications of land became so numerous,
that from a state of despondency they passed into one of confident
expectation.

Eager to obtain the promised pension the seamen were continually
giving the cry of land, on the least appearance of the kind. To put
a stop to these false alarms, which produced continual disappoint-
ments, Columbus declared that should any one give such notice, and
land not be discovered within three days afterwards, he should
thenceforth forfeit all claim to the reward.

On the evening of the 6th of October, Martin Alonzo Pinzon be
gan to lose confidence in their present course, and proposed that they
should stand more to the southward. Columbus still, however, re
fused, and continued towards the west.f Observing this difference
of opinion in a person so important in his squadron as Alonzo Pin
zon, and fearing that chance or design might scatter the ships, h
ordered that, should either of the caravels be separated from him, i

* Navarrete, T. 1, p. 16,

t Journal of Columb. Navarrete, T. I, p. 17.

Chap. IV.J CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 97

should stand to the west, and endeavour as soon as possible to join
company again : he directed, also, that the vessels should keep near
to him at sunrise and sunset, as at these times the state of the atmos-
phere is most favourable to the discovery of distant land.

On. the morning of the 7th of October, at sunrise, several of the
admiral's crew thought they beheld land in the west, but so indis-
tinctly that no one ventured to proclaim it, lest he should be mis-
taken, and forfeit all chance of the reward ; the Nina, however, be-
ing a good sailer, pressed forward to ascertain the fact. In a little
while, a flag was hoisted at her mast head, and a gun discharged,
being the preconcerted signals for land. New joy was awakened
throughout the little squadron, and every eye was turned to the west
As they advanced, however, their cloud-built hopes faded away, and
before evening the fancied land had again melted into air.*

The crews now sank into a degree of dejection proportioned to
their recent excitement; but new circumstances occurred to arouse
them. Columbus having ojDserv^ed great flights of small field birds
going towards the southwest, concluded they must be secure of
some neighbouring land, where they would find food and a resting
place. He knew the importance which the Portuguese voyagers
attached to the flight of birds ; by following which they had dis-
covered most of their islands. He had now come seven hundred
and fifty leagues, the distance at which he had computed to find the
island of Cipango; as there was no appearance of it, he might
have missed it through some mistake in the latitude. He deter-
mined, therefore, on the evening of the 7th of October, to alter his
course to the west-southwest, the direction in which the birds gene-
rally flew, and continue that direction for at least two days. After
all, it was no great deviation from his main course, and would meet
the wishes of the Pinzons, as well as be inspiriting to his followers
generally.

For three days they stood in this direction, and the farther they
went the more frequent and encouraging were the signs of land.
Flights of small birds of various colours, some of them such as sing
in the fields, came flying about the ships, and then continued to-
wards the southwest, and others were heard also flying by in the
night. Tunny fish played about the smooth sea, and a heron, a
pelican, and a duck, were seen all bound in the same direction.
The herbage which floated by the ships was fresh and green, as if
recently from land, and the air, Columbus observes, was sweet and
frao^rant as April breezes in Seville.

* Hist, del Alrairante, Cap. 20. Journ. of Columb. Navarrete, T. 1.
Vol. I. 7 I

98 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IlL

All these, however, were regarded by the crews as so many delu-
sions, beguiling them on to destruction ; and when on the evening
of the third day they beheld the sun go down upon a shoreless hori-
zon, they broke forth into turbulent clamour. They exclaimed against
this obstinacy in tempting fate, by continuing on into a boundless
sea. They insisted upon turning homeward, and abandoning the
voyage as hopeless. Columbus endeavoured to pacify them by gen-
tle words and promises of large rewards ; but finding that they only
increased in clamour, he assumed a decided tone. He told them it
was useless to murmur, the expedition had been sent by the sove-
reigns to seek the Indias, and, happen what might, he was deter-
mined to persevere, until, by the blessing of God, he should accom-
plish the enterprise.*

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 20. Las Casas, Hist Ind. L. 1. Journal of Columb.
Navarrete, CoUec. T. 1, p. 19.

It has been asserted by various historians, that Columbus, a day or two previous
to coming in sight of the new world, capitulated with his mutinous crew, promis
ing, if he did not discover land within three days, to abandon the voyage. There
is no authority for such an assertion, either in the history of his son Fernando, or
that of the Bishop Las Casas, each of whom had the admiral's papers before him.
There is no mention of such a circumstance in the extracts made from the Journal
by Las Casas, which have recently been brought to light; nor is it asserted by
either Peter Martyr or the curate of Los Palacios, both cotemporaries and ac-
quaintances of Columbus, and who could scarcely have failed to mention so striking
a fact, if true. It rests merely upon the authority of Oviedo, who is of inferior credit
to either of the authors above cited, and was grossly misled as to many of the par-
ticulars of this voyage, by a pilot of the name of Hernan Perez Matheo, who was
hostile to Columbus. In the manuscript process of the .memorable lawsuit between
Don Diego, son of the admiral, and the Fiscal of the crown, is the evidence of one
Pedro de Bilbao, who testifies that he heard many times that some of the pilots and
mariners wished to turn back, but that the admiral promised them presents, and
entreated them to wait two or three days, before which time he should discover land.
(Pedro de Bilbao oyo muchas veces que algunos pilotos y marineros querian volver-
se sino fuera por el Almirante que les prometio donos, les rogo esperasen dos otros
dias i que antes del termino descubriera tierra.) This, if true, implies no capitula-
tion to relinquish the enterprise.

On the other hand, it was asserted by some of the witnesses in the above men-
tioned suit, that Columbus, after having proceeded some few hundred leagues
without finding land, lost confidence, and wished to turn back, but was persuaded,
and even piqued to continue by the Pinzons. This assertion carries falsehood ou
its very face. It is in total contradiction to that persevering constancy and un-
daunted resolution displayed by Columbus, not merely in the present voyage, but
from first to last, of his difficult and dangerous career. This testimony was given
by some of the mutinous men, anxious to exaggerate the merit of the Pinzons, and
to depreciate that of Columbus. Fortunately the extracts from the journal of the
admiral, written from day to day with guileless simplicity, and all the airof tiuth,
disprove these fables, and show that on the very day previous to his discovervi

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 9^

Columbus was now at open defiance with his crew, and his situa-
tion became desperate. Fortunately, however, the manifestations of
neighbouring land were such on the following day, as no longer to
admit a doubt. Beside a quantity of fresh weeds, such as grow in
rivers, they saw a green fish of a kind which keeps about rocks ;
then a branch of thorn with berries on it, and recently separated
from the tree, floated by them ; then they picked up a reed, a small
board, and above all, a staflT artificially carved. All gloom and mu-
tiny now gave way to sanguine expectation ; and throughout the
day each one was eagerly on the watch, in hopes of being the first
to discover the long-sought-for land.

In the evening, when, according to invariable custom on board of
the admiral's ship, the mariners had sung the Salve Regina, or ves^
per hymn to the Virgin, he made an impressive address to his crew.
He pointed out the goodness of God in thus conducting them by soft
and favouring breezes across a tranquil ocean, <5heering their hopes
continually with fresh signs, increasing as their fears augmented,
and thus leading and guiding them to a promised land. He now
reminded them of the orders he had given on leaving the Canaries,
that after sailing westward seven hundred leagues they should not
make sail after midnight. Present appearances authorized such a
precaution. He thought it probable they should make land that
very night ; he ordered, therefore, a vigilant look out to be kept from
the forecastle, promising, to whomsoever should make the discovery,
a doublet of velvet, in addition to the pension to be given by the
sovereigns.*

The breeze had been fresh all day, with more sea than usual, and
they had made great progress. At sunset they had stood again to
the west, and were ploughing the waves at a rapid rate, the Pinta
keeping the lead from her superior sailing. The greatest animation
prevailed throughout the ships ; not an eye was closed that night.
As the evening darkened, Columbus took his station on the top of

I

he expressed a peremptory determination to persevere, in defiance of all dangers
and difficulties.

It is worthy of remark, that on the evening of the seventh of October, before
Columbus changed his course to the west-southwest, he was, according to modem
calculations saiUng along the twenty-sixth degree of north latitude, nearly due
west. This would have taken him among the northern Lucayos or Bahama Islands,
or rather, with the influence of the gulf stream, would have carried him at once to
the eastern coast of Florida. Thus the whole course of Spanish discovery might
have taken a direction along the Atlantic shores of North America, and a Span-
ish population have been given to the present territories of the United States.

* Hist del Almirante, C. 21.

100 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book HI.

the castle or cabin on the high poop of his vessel However he
might carry a cheerful and confident countenance during the day, it
was to him a time of the most painful anxiety^ and now when he
was wrapped by the shades of night from observation, he maintained
an intense and unremitting watch, ranging his eye along the dusky
horizon, in search of the most vague indication of land. Suddenly,
about ten o'clock, he thought he beheld a light glimmering at a
distance. Fearing that his eager hopes might deceive him, he
called to Pedro Gutierrez, gentleman of the king's bed-chamber, and
demanded whether he saw a light in that direction ; the latter re-
plied in the affirmative. Columbus, yet doubtful whether it might
not be some delusion of the fancy, called Rodrigo Sanchez of Sego-
via, and made the same inquiry. By the time the latter had ascend-
ed the round house, the light had disappeared. They saw it once
or twice afterwards in sudden and passing gleams, as if it were a
torch in the bark of a fisherman, rising and sinking with the waves
or in the hand of some person on shore, borne up and down as he
walked from house to house. So transient and uncertain were these
gleams, that few attached any importance to them. Columbus^
however, considered them as certain signs of land, and moreover that
the land was inhabited.

They continued their course until two in the morning, when a
gun from the Pinta gave the joyful signal of land. It was first
descried by a mariner named Rodrigo de Triana ; but the reward
was afterwards adjudged to the admiral,, for having previously per-
ceived the light. The land was now clearly seen about two leagues
distant, whereupon they took in sail, and laid to, waiting impatiently
for the dawn.

The thoughts and feelings of Columbus, in thi« little space of
time must have been tumultuous and intense. At length, in spite of
every difficulty and danger, he had accomplished his object. The
great mystery of the ocean was revealed ; his theory, which had
been the scoff* even of sages, was triumphantly established ; he had
secured to himself a glory which must be as durable as the world
itself.

It is difficult even for the imagination to. conceive the feelings oi
such a man, at the moment of so sublime a discovery. What a he-
wildering crowd of conjectures must have thronged upon his mindy
as to the land which lay before him, covered with darkness ! That
it was fruitful, was evident from the vegetables which floated from its
shores. He thought, too, that he perceived in the balmy air the fra-
grance of aromatic groves. The moving light which he had beheld

Chap. IV.J CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS lOi

had proved that it was the residence of man. But what were its in-
habitants ? Were they Hke those of the other parts of the globe ; or
were they some strange and monstrous race, such as the imagination
in those times was prone to give to all remote and unknown regions ?
Had he come upon some wild island far in the Indian sea ; or was
this the famed Cipango itself, the object of his golden fancies ? A
thousand speculations of the kind must have swarmed upon him, as
with his anxious crews, he waited for the night to pass away ; won-
dering whether the morning light would reveal a savage wilderness,
or dawn upon spicy groves, and glittering fanes, and gilded cities,
and all the splendour of oriental civilization.

12

LIFE AND VOYAGES

OF

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

BOOK IV.

CHAPTER I.

riRST LANDING OF COLUMBUS IN THE NEW WORLD.
[ 1492. ]

The morning dawned that was to give Columbus the first view of the
new world. As obj ects gradually became visible he beheld before him
a level and beautiful island several leagues in extent, of great fresh-
ness and verdure, and covered with trees like a continual orchard.
Though every thing appeared in the wild luxuriance of untamed na-
ture, yet the island was evidently populous, for the inhabitants were
seen issuing from the woods, and running from all parts to the shore,
where they stood gazing at the ships. They were all perfectly
naked, and from their attitudes and gestures appeared to be lost in
astonishment. Columbus made signal for the ships to cast anchor,
and the boats to be manned and armed. He entered his own boat
richly attired in scarlet, and bearing the royal standard; whilst
Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and Vincent Yanez his brother, put off in
company in their boats, each bearing the banner of the enterprise
emblazoned with a green cross, having on each side the letters F
and Y. surmounted by crowns, the initials of the Castilian monarchs
Fernando and Ysabel.

As they approached the shores, they were refreshed by the sight
of the ample forests, which in those climates have extraordinary
beauty of vegetation. They beheld fruits of tempting hue, but
unknown kind, growing among the trees which overhung the shores.
The purity and suavity of the atmosphere, the crystal transparency
of the seas which bathe these islands, give them a wonderful beauty,
and must have had their effect upon the susceptible feelings of Co-
lumbus. No sooner did he land, than he threw himself upon his

Chap. L] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 103

knees, kissed the earth, and returned thanks to God with tears of
joy. His example was followed by the rest, whose hearts indeed
overflowed with the same feelings of gratitude, Columbus then
rising drew his sword, displayed the royal standard, and assembling
round him the two captains, with Rodrigo de Escobedo, notary of
the armament, Rodrigo Sanchez, and the rest who had landed, he
took solemn possession in the name of the Castilian sovereigns,
giving the island the name of San Salvador. It was on the morning
of Friday 12th of October that this memorable event took place.
Having complied with the requisite forms and ceremonies, Co-
lumbus called upon all present to take the oath of obedience to him,
,as admiral and viceroy, representing the persons of the sovereigns.*

The feelings of the crew now burst forth in the most extravagant
transports. They had recently considered themselves devoted men,
hurrying forward to destruction ; they now looked upon themselves
as favourites of fortune, and gave themselves up to the most un-
bounded joy. They thronged around the admiral in their overflow-
ing zeal. Some embraced him, others kissed his hands. Those who
had been most mutinous and turbulent during the voyage, were now
most devoted and enthusiastic. Some begged favours of him, as of a
man who had already wealth and honours in his gift. Many abject
spirits, who had outraged him by their insolence, now crouched as it
Were at his feet, begging pardon for all the trouble they had caused him,
and offering for the future the blindest obedience to his commands, t

The natives of the island, when, at the dawn of day they had
beheld the ships, with their sails set, hovering on their coast, had
supposed them some monsters which had issued from the deep during
the night. They had crowded to the beach, and watched their
movements with awful anxiety. Their veering about, apparently
without effort; the shifting and furling of their sails, resembling
huge wings, filled them with astonishment. When they beheld the
ooats approacn the shore, and a number of strange beings clad in
glittering steel, or raiment of various colours, landing upon the
beach, they fled in affright to their woods. Finding, however, that

* In the Tablas Chronologicas of Padre Claudio Clemente, is conserved a fonn
of prayer, said to hare been used by Columbus on this occasion, and which, by
order of the Castilian sovereigns, was afterwards used by Balboa, Cortez and Pi-
zarro in their discoveries. " Domine Deus seterne et omnipotens, sacro tuo verbo
ccelum, et terram, etmare creasti ; benedicatur el glorificetur nomen tuum, laudetui
tua majestas, quae dignata est per humilem servum tuum, ut ejus sacrum nomen
agnoscatur, et praedicetur in hac altera mundi parte." Tab. Chron. de los Descub.
Decad. 1. Valencia, 1689.

tOviedo, L. 1. Cap. 6. Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1 C 40.

104 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book. IV.

there was no attempt to pursue, or molest them, tney gradually
recovered from their terror, and approached the Spaniards with great
awe; frequently prostrating themselves on the earth, and making
signs of adoration. During the ceremonies of taking possession,
they remained gazing in timid admiration at the complexion, the
beards, the shining armour, and splendid dresses of the Spaniards.
The admiral particularly attracted their attention, from his com-
manding height, his air of authority, his dress of scarlet, and the
deference which was paid him by his companions ; all which pointed
him out to be the commander.* When they had still further re-
covered from their fears, they approached the Spaniards, touched
their beards, and examined their hands and faces, admiring their
whiteness. Columbus, pleased with their simplicity, their gentle-
ness, and the confidence they reposed in beings who must have ap-
peared to them so strange and formidable, suffered their scrutiny
with perfect acquiescence. The wondering savages were won by
this benignity ; they now supposed that the ships had sailed out of
the crystal firmament which bounded their horizon, or that they had
descended from above on their ample wings, and that these marvel-
lous beings were inhabitants of the skies. f

The natives of the island were no less objects of curiosity to the
Spaniards, differing as they did from any race of men they had ever
seen. Their appearance gave no promise of either wealth or civili-
zation, for they were entirely naked, and painted with a variety of
colours. With some it was confined merely to a part of the face,
the nose, or around the eyes; with others it extended to the whole
body, and gave them a wild and fantastic appearance. Their com-
plexion was of a tawny or copper hue, and they were entirely desti-
tute of beards. Their hair was not crisped like the recently dis-
covered tribes of the African coast, under the same latitude, but
straight and coarse, partly cut short above the ears, but some locks
left long behind and falling upon their shoulders. Their features,
though obscured and disfigured by paint, were agreeable; they had
lofty foreheads and remarkably fine eyes. They were of moderate
stature, and well shaped; most of them appeared to be under thirty
years of age; there was but one female with them, quite young,
naked like her companions, and beautifully formed.

• Las Casas. ubi sup.
' t The idea that the white men came f>om hf -aven was universally entertained by
the inhabitants of the new world. When in the course of subsequent voyages,
the Spaniards conversed with the Cacique Nicaragua, he inquired how they eame
down from the skies, whether flying, or whether they descended on clouds, Her-
rera, Decad. 3, L. 4, C. 5.

CSAP. I.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 105

As Columbus supposed himself to have landed on an island at the
extremity of India, he called the natives by the general appellation
of Indians, which was universally adopted, before the true nature of
his discovery was known, and has ever since been extended to all
the aboriginals of the new world.

The Spaniards soon discovered that these islanders were friendly
and gentle in their dispositions, and extremely simple and artless.
Their only arms were lances, hardened at the end by fire, or pointed
with a flint, or the tooth or bone of a fish. There was no iron to be
seen among them, nor did they appear acquainted with its proper-
ties; for when a drawn sword was presented to them, they unguard-
edly took it by the edge.

Columbus distributed among them coloured caps, glass bead^
hawks' bells, and other trifles, such as the Portuguese were accus-
tomed to trade with among the nations of the gold coast of Africa.
These they received as inestimable gifts, hanging the beads round
their necks, and being wonderfully delighted with their finery, and
with the sound of the bells. The Spaniards remained all day on
shore, refreshing themselves after their anxious voyage, amidst the
beautiful groves of the island ; they did not return to their ships until
late in the evening, delighted with all that they had seen.

On the following morning, at break of day, the shore was thronged
with the natives, who having lost all dread of what at first appeared
to be monsters of the deep, came swimming off to the ships ; others
came in ligl^t barks which they called canoes, formed. of a single
tree, hollowed and capable of holding from one man to the number
of forty or fifty. These they managed dexterously with paddles^
and, if overturned, swam about in the water with perfect unconcern,
as if in their natural element, righting their canoes with great
facility, and bailing them with calabashes.*

They showed great eagerness to procure more of the toys and
trinkets of the white men, not apparently from any idea of their in-
trinsic value, but because every thing from the hands of the strangers
possessed a supernatural virtue in their eyes, as having been brought
with them from heaven; they even picked up fragments of glass and
earthenware as valuable prizes. They had but few objects to offer
in return, except parrots, of which great numbers were domesticated
among them, and cotton yarn, of which they had abundance, and
would exchange large balls of five and twenty pounds' weight for

* The calabashes of the Indians, which served the purposes of glass and earthen
ware, supplying them with all sorts of domestic utensils, were produced on stately
trees of the size of elms.

106 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IV.

the merest trifle. They brought also cakes of a kind of bread called
cassava, which constituted a principal part of their food, and was
afterwards an important article of provisions with the Spaniards.
It was formed from a great root called juca, which they cultivated
in fields. This they cut into small morsels, which they grated
or scraped and strained in a press, making it into a broad thin cake,
which was afterwards dried hard, and would keep for a long time,
and had to be steeped in water when eaten. It was insipid but
noui'ishing, though the water strained from it in the preparation was
a deadly poison. There was another kind of yuca, destitute of this
poisonous quality, which was eaten in the root, either boiled or
roasted.*

The avarice of the discoverers was quickly excited by the sight of
small ornaments of gold, which some of the natives wore in their
noses. These the latter gladly exchanged for glass beads and
hawks' bells; and both parties exulted in the bargain, no doubt ad
miring each others' simphcity. As gold, however, was an object of
royal monopoly in all enterprises of discovery, Columbus forbade any
traffic in it without his express sanction ; and he put the same pro
hibition on the traffic for cotton, reserving to the crown all trade for
it, wherever it should be found in any quantity.

He inquired of the natives where this gold was procured. They
answered him by signs, pointing to the south ; and he understood
them that in that quarter there was a king of great wealth, in so
much that he was served in great vessels of wrought gold. He
understood also that there was land to the south, the southwest, and
the northwest; and that the people from the latter frequently pro-
ceeded to the southwest in quest of gold and precious stones, and in
their way made descents upon the island, carrying off the inhabit-
ants. Several of the natives showed him the scars of wounds,
which they informed him they had received in battles with these
invaders. It is evident that a great part of this fancied intelli-
gence was the mere construction of the hopes and wishes of Co-
lumbus; for he was under a spell of the imagination, which gave its
own shapes and colours to every object. He was persuaded that he
had arrived among those islands described by Marco Polo as lying
opposite Cathay, in the Chinese sea, and he construed every thing
to accord with the account given of those opulent regions. Thus,
the enemies, which the natives spoke of as coming from the north-
west, he concluded to be the people of the main land of Asia, the
subjects of the great Khan of Tartary, who were represented by the

, ♦ Acosta, Hist. Ind. L, 4, C. 17.

Chap. I.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 107

Venetian traveller as accustomed to make war upon the islands, and
to enslave their inhabitants. The country to the south, abounding
in gold, could be no other than the famous island of Cipango; and
the king who was served out of vessels of gold ,must be the mo-
narch whose magnificent city and gorgeous palace, covered with
plates of gold, had been extolled in such splendid terms by Marco
Polo.

The island where Columbus had thus for the first time set his foot
upon the new world, was called by the natives Guanahani. It still
retains the name of San Salvador, which he gave to it, though
called by the English Cat Island.* ^ The light which he had seen
the evening previous to his making land, may have been on Wat-
ling's island, which lies a few leagues to the east. San Salvador is
one of the great cluster of the Lucayos or Bahama Islands, which
stretch southeast and northwest, from the coast of Florida to His-
paniola, covering the northern coast of Cuba.

On the morning of the 14th of October the admiral set off at
daybreak with the boats of the ships to reconnoitre the island,
directing his course to the northeast. The coast was surrounded by
a reef of rocks, within which there was depth of water and suffi-
cient harbour to receive all the ships in Christendom. The entrance
was very narrow; within there were several sand banks, but the
water was as still as in a pool.f

The island appeared throughout to be well wooded, with streams
of water, and a large lake in the centre. As the boats proceeded,
they passed two or three villages, the inhabitants of which, men as
well as women, ran to the shores, throwing themselves on the ground,
lifting up their hands and eyes, either giving thanks to heaven, or
worshipping the Spaniards as supernatural beings. They ran along
parallel to the boats, calling after the Spaniards, and inviting them
by signs to land, offering them various fruits and vessels of water.
Finding however that the boats continued on their course many
of the Indians threw themselves intb the sea and swam after them,
and others followed in canoes. The admiral received them all with
kindness and caresses, giving them glass beads and other trifles,
which were received with transport as celestial presents, for the
invariable idea of the savages was, that the white men had come
from the skies.

• Some dispute having recently arisen as to the island on which Columbus first
landed, the reader is referred for a discussion of this question to the illustration of
tkis work, article, " First landing of Columbus."

t Primer viage de Colon. Navarrete, T. 1.

108 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IV.

In this way they pursued their course, until they came to a small
peninsula, which in two or three days might be separated from the
main land and surrounded with water, and which was therefore
specified by Columbus as an excellent situation for a fortress. On
this there were six Indian cabins, surrounded by groves and gardens
as beautiful as those of Castile, The sailors being wearied with
rowing, and the island not appearing to the admiral of sufficient
importance to induce colonization, he returned to the ships, taking
seven of the natives with him, that they might acquire the Spanish
language and serve as interpreters.

Having taken in a supply (jf wood and water, they left the island
of San Salvador the same evening, the admiral being impatient to
prosecute his discoveries, so satisfactorily commenced, and above all
to arrive at the wealthy country to the south, which he flattered
himself would prove the famous island of Cipango.

CHAPTER 11.

CRUISE AMONG THE BAHAMA ISLANDS.
[1492.]

On leaving San Salvador, Columbus was at a loss which way to
direct his course. He beheld a great number of beautiful islands,
green and level and fertile, inviting him in different directions.
The Indians on board of his vessel, intimated by signs that they
were innumerable, well peopled, and at war with one another. They
mentioned the names of above a hundred. Columbus now had no
longer a doubt that he was among those islands described by Marco
Polo as studding the vast sea of Chin or China, and lying at a great
distance from the main land. These, according to the Venetian,
amounted to between seven and eight thousand, and abounded with
drugs and spices and odoriferous trees; together with gold and
silver and many other precious objects of commerce.*

Animated by the idea of exploring this opulent archipelago, he
selected the largest island in sight for his next visit; it appeared to

• Marco Polo, Book 3, Chap. 4. Eng. translation by W. Marsden,

Ohap. II.3 CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 109

be almost five leagues distant, and he understood from his Indians
that the natives were richer than those of San Salvador, wearing
bracelets, and anklets, and other ornaments of massive gold.

The night coming on, Columbus ordered that the ships should lie
to, as the navigation was difficult and dangerous among this group
of unknown islands, and he feared to venture upon a strange coast
in the dark. In the morning they again made sail, but met with
counter currents, which delayed their progress, so that it was not
until sundown that they anchored at the island. The next morning
(16th) they went on shore, and Columbus took solemn possession;
giving the island the name of Santa Maria de la Concepcion.
The same scene occurred with the inhabitants as with those
of San Salvador. They manifested the same astonishment and
awe; the same gentleness and simplicity, and the same nakedness
and absence of all wealth. Columbus looked in vain for bracelets
and anklets of gold, or for any other precious articles; they had been
either fictions of his Indian guides, or his own misinterpretations.

Finding that there was nothing in this island to induce delay, he
returned on board, and prepared to make sail for another, and much
larger one, which lay to the west. At this time one of the Indians
of San Salvador, who was on board of the Nina, seeing himself
about to be borne away from his home by these strangers, plunged
into the sea, and swam to a large canoe filled with natives. The
boat of the caravel put off in pursuit, but the Indians skimmed the
surface of the sea in their light bark with too much velocity to be
overtaken, and reaching the land fled like wild deer to the woods.
The sailors took the canoe as a prize, and returned on board of the
caravel. Shortly afterwards a small canoe approached one of the
ships, from a different part of the island, with a single Indian on
board, who came to offer a ball of cotton in exchange for hawks'
bells. As he paused when close to the vessel, and feared to enter,
several sailors threw themselves into the sea and took him prisoner.

Columbus was extremely desirous of dispelling any terror and dis-
trust that might have been awakened in the island by the pursuit
of the fugitives, or by the representations of the Indian guide who
had escaped, considering it of the utmost importance to conciliate
the good will of the natives for the benefit of future voyagers.
Having seen all that had passed from his station on the high poop
of the vessel, he ordered the captive to be brought to him. The poor
Indian was led trembling with fear, and humbly offered his ball
of cotton as a gift. The admiral received him with the utmost
benignity, and declining his offering, put a coloured cap upon his
head, strings of green beads around his arms, and hawks' bells in his

K

110 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IV

ears, then ordering him and his ball of cotton to be Replaced in the
canoe, dismissed him astonished and overjoyed. He ordered that
the other canoe also which had been seized and which was fastened
to the Nina should be cast loose, to be regained by its proprietors.
When the Indian reached the shore, Columbus could see his country-
men thronging round him, examining and admiring his finery, and
listening to his account of the kind treatment he had experienced.

Such were the gentle and sage precautions continually taken by
Columbus, to impress the natives with a favourable opinion of the
white men. Another instance of the kind occurred after his leaving
the Island of Conception, when he stood for the larger island, which
lay several leagues to the west. When midway across the gulf
which separated the two islands, they overtook a single Indian in a
canoe. He had a mere morsel of cassava bread, and a calabash
of water for his sea store, and a little red paint, like dragon's blood,
for his personal decoration, when he should land. They found also
a string of glass beads upon him, such as they had given to the
natives of San Salvador, which showed that he had come from
thence, and was probably passing from island to island, to give notice
of the ships. Columbus admired the hardihood of this simple navi-
gator, making such an extensive voyage in so frail a bark. As the
island was still distant, he ordered that both the Indian and his
canoe should be taken onboard, where he treated him with the great-
est kindness, giving him bread and honey to eat, and v/ine to drink
The weather being very calm, they did not reach the island until too
dark to anchor, through fear of cutting their cables with rocks.
The sea about these islands was so transparent, that in the day time
they could see the bottom and choose their ground ; and so deep,
that at two gunshot distance there was no anchorage. Hoisting out
the canoe of their Indian voyager, therefore, and restoring to him all
his effects, they sent him joyfully to shore to prepare the natives for
their arrival, while the ships lay to until morning.

The benevolent treatment of the poor Indian had the desired effect;
the natives came in their canoes during the night, eager to see these
wonderful and benignant strangers. They surrounded the ships,
bringing whatever their island afforded, fruits and roots, and the
pure water from their springs. Columbus distributed trifling pre-
sents among them, and to those who came on board he gave sugar
and honey.

Landing the next morning, he gave to this island the name of
Fernandina, in honour of the king ; it is the same at present called
Exuma. The inhabitants were similar in every respect to thos«
of the preceding islands, excepting that they appeared more inge-

Chap, fl.} CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. IM

nious and intelligent Some of the women wore scanty coverings
or aprons of cotton, and others had mantles of the same, but for the
most part they were entirely naked. Their habitations were very
simple, being in the form of a paviHon or high circular tent, con-
structed of branches of trees, of reeds and palm leaves. They were
kept very clean and neat, and sheltered under beautiful, aud spreading
trees. For beds, they had nets of cotton, extended from two posts,
which they called kamacs, a name since adopted into universal iise
among seamen.

In endeavouring to circumnavigate the Island, within two leagues
of the northwest cape, Columbus found a noble harbourj sufficient
to hold a hundred ships, with two entrances formed by an island
which lay in the mouth of it. Here, while the men landed with tho
casks, in search of water, he refreshed himself imder the shade of
the groves, which he says were more beautiful than any he had ever
beheld: ''the country was as fresh and green as the month of May
in Andalusia; the trees, the fruits, the herbs, the flowers, the very
stones, for the most part, as different from those of Spain, as nigl^t;
from day."* The inhabitants gave the same proofs as the other
islanders, of being totally unaccustomed to the sight of civilized man.
They regarded the Spaniards with awe and admiration; approached
them with propitiatory offerings of whatever their poverty or rather
their simple and natural mode of life afforded; the fruits of their
fields and groves, the cotton which was their article of greatest value,
and their domesticated parrots. When the Spaniards landed in
search of water they took them to the coolest springs, the sweetest
and freshest runs, filling their casks, rolling them to the boats, aiul
seeking in every way to gratify their celestial visiters.

However this state of primeval poverty might have pleased ir.f
imagination of a poet, it was a source of continual disappointmeiji;
to the Spaniards, whose avarice had been whetted to the quick by tn«
scanty specimens of gold which they had met with, and by the infor-
mation of golden islands continually given by the Indians.

Leaving Fernandina on the 19th of October, they steered to the
southeast in quest of an island called Saometo, where Columbus
understood, from the signs of the guides, that there was a mine
of gold, and a king who dwelt in a large city and possessed great
treasures, wearing rich clothing and jewels of gold, and being
sovereign of all the surrounding islands. They found the island,
but neither the monarch nor the mine; either Columbus had mis-
understood the natives, or they, measuring things by their own

* Primer viage de Colon. Navarrete, T. 1,

112 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP IBook IV

poverty, had exaggerated the paltr j state and trfvral ornaments of
some savage chieftain. Columbus extols, however, the beauty of the
island, to which he gave the name of his royal patroness, Isabella.*
Delightful as were the others he had visited, he declares that this
surpasses them all. Like those, it was covered with trees, and shrubs,
and herbs of unknown kind, and of rich tropical vegetation. The
climate had the same soft temperature; the air was delicate and
balmy ; the land was higher, with a fine verdant hill: the coast of a
fine sand, gently laved by transparent billows.

Columbus was enchanted by the lovely scenery of this island. "I
know not,^' says he, ^'^where first to go, nor are my eyes ever weary
of gazing on the beautiful verdure." At the southwest end of the
island, he found fine lakes of fresh water, overhung with groves and
surrounded by banks covered with herbage. Here he ordered all the
casks of the ships to be filled. "Here are large lakes," says he in
his journal, "and the groves about them are marvellous, and here
and in all the island every thing is green, and the herbage as in
April in Andalusia." The singing of the birds is such, that it seems
as if one would never desire to depart hence. There are fiocks
of parrots which obscure the sun, and other birds large and small,
of so many kinds, and so different from ours, that it is wonderful,
and besides there are trees of a thousand species, each having its
particular fruit, and all of marvellous flavour, so that I am in the
greatest trouble in the world not to know them, for I am very cer-
tain that they are each of great value. I shall bring home some
of them as specimens, and also some of the herbs." Columbus was
intent on discovering the drugs and spices of the east, and on
approaching this Island, had fancied he perceived in the air which
came from it, the spicy odours said to be wafted from the islands of
^e Indian seas. "As I arrived at this cape," says he, "there came
off a fragrance so good and soft of the flowers or trees of the land,
that it was the sweetest thing in the world. I believe there are here
many herbs and trees which would be of great price in Spain fbr
tinctures, medicines and spices, but I know nothing of them, which
gives me great concern."!

The fish which abounded in these seas partook of the novelty
which characterized most of the objects in this new world. They
mailed the birds in the tropical brilliancy of their colours; the
scales of some of them glancing back the rays of light like pre-
cious stones ; as they sported about the ships, they flashed gleams

* At present called Isla Larga, and Exumeta,
t Primer viage de Colon. Navarre te, T.. l^

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 1X3

of gold and silver thr^ygh the clear waves ; and the dolphins taken
out of their element delighted the eye v^rith the changes of colours
ascribed in fahle to the cameleon.

No animals were seen in these islands excepting a species of dog
which never barked, a kind of coney or rabbit called Utia by the
natives, together with numerous lizards and guanas. The last were
regarded with horror and disgust by the Spaniards, supposing them
to be fierce and noxious serpents ; but they were found afterwards to
be perfectly harmless, and their flesh to be esteemed a great delicacy
by the Indians.

For several days Columbus hovered about this island, seeking in
vain to find its imaginary monarch, or to establish a communication
with him, until at length he reluctantly became convinced of his
error. No sooner, however, did one delusion fade away, than another
succeeded. In reply to the continual inquiries made by the Spaniards
concerning the source from whence they procured their gold, the
natives had uniformly pointed to the south. Columbus now began
to gather information of an island which lay in that direction, and
which was called Cuba, but all that he could collect concerning it
from the signs of the natives was coloured, and gilded, and exag-
gerated by his imagination. He understood it to be of great extent,
abounding in gold and pearl, and spices, and carrying on an exten-
sive commerce in those precious articles ; and that large merchant
ships came to trade with its inhabitants.

Comparing these misinterpreted accounts with the coast of Asia,
as laid down on his map, after the descriptions of Marco Polo, he
concluded that this island must be Cipango, and that the merchant
ships mentioned must be those of the Grand Khan, who maintained
an extensive commerce in these seas. He formed his plan accord-
ingly, determining to sail immediately for this island, and make
himself acquainted with its ports, cities, and productions, for the
purpose of establishing relations of traffic. He would then seek an-
other great island called Bohio, of which the natives gave likewise
marvellous accounts. His sojourn in those islands would depend
upon the quantities of gold, spices, precious stones, and other objects
of oriental trade which he should find there. After this he would
proceed to the main land of I©dia, which must be within ten days'
sail, seek the city of Quinsai, which, according to Marco Polo, was
one of the most magnificent capitals in the world ; he would there
deliver in person the letter of the Castilian sovereigns to the Grand
Khan, and when he received his reply return triumphantly to Spain
with this document to prove that he had accomplished the great ob-

Vol, I. 8 K 2

114 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book IV

ject of his voyage.* Such was the splendid scheme with which
Columbus fed his imagination, as he was about to leave the Bahamas
in quest of the island of Cuba.

CHAPTER III.

DISCOVERY AND COASTING OF CUBA.
[1492.]

For several days the departure of Columbus was delayed by con-
trary winds, and calms attended by heavy showers, which last had
prevailed, more or less, since his an-ival among the islands. It was
the season of the autumnal rains, which in those torrid climates suc-
ceed the parching heats of summer, commencing about the decrease
of the August moon, and lasting until the month of November.

At length, at midnight, October 24th, he set sail from the island
of Isabella, but was nearly becalmed until mid-day ; a gentle wind
then sprang up, and, as he observes, began to blow most amorously.
Every sail was spread, and he stood towards the west-southwest, the
direction in which he was told the land of Cuba lay from Isabella.
After three days' navigation, in the course of which he touched at a
group of seven or eight small islands, which he called Islas of
Arena, supposed to be the present Mucaras islands, and having
crossed the Bahama bank and channel, he arrived, on the morning
of the 28th of October, in sight of the island of Cuba. The part
which he first discovered is supposed to be the coast to the west of
Nuevitas del Principe.

As he approached this noble island, he was struck with its mag-
nitude, and the grandeur of its features, its high and airy moun-
tains, which reminded him of those of Sicily ; its fertile valleys, and
long sweeping plains, watered by noble rivers ; its stately forests ; its
bold promontories, and stretching head-lands, which melted away
mto the remotest distance. He anchored in a beautiful river of trans-
parent clearness, free from rocks or shoals, and its banks overhung
with trees. Here landing and taking possession of the island, he

* Journal of Columbus. Navarrete, T. 1.

Chap.HI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 115

gave it the name of Juana, in honour of Prince Juan, and to the river
the name of San Salvador.

On the arrival of the ships, two canoes had put off from the shore,
but on seeing the boat approach, to sound the river for anchorage,
they fled in affright. The admiral visited two cabins, abandoned by
wheir terrified inhabitants. They contained but scanty effects; a
few nets made of the fibres of the palm tree, hooks and harpoons
of bone, and a few other fishing implements; and one of the same
kind of dogs which he had met with on the smaller islands, which
never bark. He ordered that nothing should be taken away or
deranged, contenting himself with noting the manner and means
of living of the inhabitants.

Returning to his boat, he proceeded for some distance up the river,
more and more enchanted with the beauty of the country. The
forests which covered each bank were of high and wide spreading
trees ; some bearing fruits, others flowers, while in some both fruit
and flower were mingled, bespeaking a perpetual round of fertility:
among them were many palms, but different from those of Spain and
Africa; with the great leaves of these the natives thatched their
cabins.

The continual eulogies made by Columbus on the beauty of the
country were warranted by the kind of scenery he was beholding.
There is a wonderful splendour, variety, and luxuriance^ in the
vegetation of these quick and ardent climates. The verdure of the
groves, and the colours of the flowers and blossoms, derive a vividness
to the eye from the transparent purity of the air, and the deep serenity
of the azure heavens. The forests too are full of life; swarming
with birds of brilliant plumage. Painted varieties of parrots and
woodpeckers create a glitter amidst the verdure of the grove, and
hummingbirds rove from flower to flower, resembling, as has well
been said, animated particles of a rainbow. The scarlet flamingos
too, seen sometimes through an opening of a forest in a distant
savannah, have the appearance of soldiers drawn up in battalion,
with an advanced scout on the alert, to give notice of approaching
danger. Nor is the least beautiful part of animated nature the
various tribes of insects that people every plant, displaying brilliant
coats of mail, which sparkle to the eye like precious gems.*

Such is the splendour of animal and vegetable creation in these
tropical regions, where an ardent sun imparts, in a manner, its own
lustre to every object, and quickens nature into exuberant fecundity.

* The Ladies of Havana, on gala occasions, wear in their hair numbers of those
insects, which have a brilliancy equal to rubies, sapphires, or diamonds.

116 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF (IJook IV.

The birds, in general, are not remarkable for their notes, for it has
been observed that in the feathered race sweetness of song rarely
Q.<5CQmpanies brilliancy of plumage. Columbus remarks, however,
that there were various kinds which sang sweetly among the trees,
and he frequently deceived himself in fancying that he heard thd
voice of the nightingale, a bird unknown in these countries. He was^
in fact, in a mood to see every thing through a fond and favouring,
medium. His heart was full even to overflowing, for he was enjoying
the fulfilment of his hopes, and the hard earned but glorious reward
of his toils and perils. Every thing around him was beheld with
the enamoured and exulting eye of a discoverer, where triumph
mingles with admiration; and it is diflicult to conceive the rapturous
State of his feelings, while thus exploring the charms of a virgin
world, won by his enterprise and valour.

From his continual remarks on the beauty of the scenery, and
from the pleasure which he evidently derived from rural sounds and
objects, he appears to have been extremely open to those delicious
influences, exercised over some spirits, by the graces and wonders
of nature. He gives utterance to these feelings with characteristic
enthusiasm, and at the same time with the artlessness and simplicity
of diction of a child. When speaking of some lovely scene among
the groves or along the flowery shores of these favoured islands, he
says, "one could live there for ever." Cuba broke upon him like an
elysium. "It is the most beautiful island," he says, "that eyes ever
beheld, full of excellent ports and profound rivers." The climate
was more temperate here than in the other islands, the nights being
neither hot nor cold, while the birds and crickets sang all night long.
Indeed, there is a beauty in a tropical night, in the depth of the dark
blue sky, the lambent purity of the stars, and the resplendent clear-
ness of the moon, that spreads over the rich landscape, and the
balmy groves, a charm more captivating than the splendour of
the day.

In the sweet smell of the woods, and the odour of the flowers,
which loaded every breeze, Columbus fancied he perceived the
fragrance of oriental spices; and along the shores he found shells
of the kind of oyster which produces pearls. From the grass grow-
ing to the very edge of the water, he inferred the peacefulness of the
ocean which bathes these islands, never lashing the shore with
angry surges. Ever since his arrival among these Antilles, he had
experienced nothing but soft and gentle weather, and he concluded
that a perpetual serenity reigned over these happy seas. He was
little suspicious of the occasional bursts of fury to which they are

Chap. IIL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. llf!

liable. Charlevoix, speaking from actual observation, remarks:
*Hhe sea of those islands is commonly more tranquil than ours; but
like certain people who are excited with difficulty, and whose
transports of passion are as violent as they are rare, so when this sea
becomes irritated it is terrible. It breaks all bounds, overflows the
country, sweeps away all things that oppose it, and leaves frightful
ravages behind, to mark the extent of its inundations. It is after
these tempests, known by the name of hurricanes, that the shores
are found covered with marine shells, which greatly surpass in lustre
and beauty those of the European seas."* It is a singular fact,
however, that the hurricanes, which almost annually devastate the
Bahamas, and other islands in the immediate vicinity of Cuba, have
been seldom known to extend their influence to this favoured land.
It would seem as if the very elements were charmed into gentleness
AS they approach it.

In a kind of riot of the imagination, Columbus finds at every step
jBomething to corroborate the information he had received, or fancied
he had received, from the natives. He has had conclusive proofs,
as he thought, that Cuba possessed mines of gold, and groves of
spices, and that the crystal waters of its shores abounded with
pearls. He no longer doubted that it was the island of Cipango,
and, weighing anchor, coasted along westward, in which direction,
according to. the signs of his interpreters, the magnificent city of its
king was situated. In the course of his voyage, he landed occa-
eionally, and visited several villages ; particularly one on the banks
©f a large river, to which he gave the name of Rio de Mares. f The
nouses were neatly built of branches of Palm trees in the shape of
pavilions ; not laid out in regular streets, but scattered here and there,
among the groves, and under the shade of broad spreading trees,
like tents in a camp ; as is still the case in many of the Spanish
eettlements, and in the villages in the interior of Cuba. The in-
habitants fled to the mountains, or hid themselves in the woods. Co-
lumbus carefully noted the architecture and furniture of their dwell-
ings. The houses were better built than those he had hitherto seen,
and were kept extremely clean. He found in them rude statues,
and wooden masks, carved with considerable ingenuity. All these
were indications of more art and civilization than he had observed
in the smaller islands, and he supposed they would go on increasing
as he approached terra firma. Finding in all the cabins implements
for fishing, he concluded that these coasts were inhabited merely by

* Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming. L. 1, p. 20. Paris^ 1730*
, Now called Savannah la Mar.

UB: LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book IV.

fishermen, who carried their fish to the cities in the interior. He
thought also he had found the sculls of cows, which proved that
there were cattle in the island ; though these are supposed to have
been sculls of the manati or sea-calf found on this coast.

After standing to the northwest for some distance, Columbus came
in sight of a great headland, to which, from the groves with which it
was covered, he gave the name of the Cape of Palms, and which
forms the eastern entrance to what is now known as LagUna de Mo-
ron. Here three Indians, natives of the island of Guanahani, who
were on board of the Pinta, informed the commander, Martin Alonzo
Pinzon, that behind this cape there was a river, from whence it was.
but four days' journey to Cubanacan, a place abounding in gold. By-
this they designated a province situated in the centre of Cuba, na
can in their language signifying the midst. Pinzon, however, had
studied intently the map of Toscanelli, and had imbibed from Co-
lumbus all his ideas respecting the coast of Asia. He concluded,
therefore, that the Indians were talking of Cublai Khan, the Tartar
sovereign, and of certain parts of his dominions described by Marco
Polo.* He thought he understood from them, that Cuba was not an
feland, but terra firma, extending a vast distance to the north, and
that the king who reigned in this vicinity was at war with the great;
Khan.

This tissue of errors and misconceptions he immediately com-
municated to Columbus. It put an end to the delusion in which the
admiral had hitherto indulged, that this was the island of Cipango;
but it substituted another no less agreeable. He concluded that he
must have reached the main land of Asia, or as he termed it, India,
and if so, he could not be at any great distance from Mangi and
Cathay, the ultimate destination of his voyage. The prince in ques-
tion, who reigned over this neighbouring country, must be some ori-
ental potentate of consequence ; he resolved, therefore, to seek the
river beyond the Cape of Palms, and dispatch a present to the mo-
narch, with one of the letters of recommendation from the Castilian
sovereigns ; and after visiting his dominions he would proceed to the
capital of Cathay, the residence of the Grand Khan.

Every attempt to reach the river in question, however, proved in-
effectual. Cape stretched beyond cape ; there was no good anchor-
age; the wind became contrary, and the appearance of the heavena
threatening rough weather, he put back to a river where he had an*
chored a day or two before, and to which he had given the name of
Rio de los Mares.

♦ Las Casas, lib. 1, cap. 44. MS.

Chap. m. J CHRISTOPHER COLUJVffiUS. 119

On the first of Novernl)er, at sunrise, he sent the 'boats on shore to
Visit several houses, but the inhabitants fled to the woods. Co-
lumbus supposed that they must have a dread of his armament,
thinking it one of the scouring expeditions sent by the Grand Khan
'to make prisoners and slaves. He sent the boat on shore again in
the afternoon, with an Indian interpreter on board, who was in-
structed to assure the people of the peaceable and beneficent inten-
tions of the Spaniards, and that they had no connexion with the
Grand Khan. After the Indian had proclaimed this from the boat
to the savages upon the beach, part of it no doubt to their great
perplexity, he threw himself into the water and swam to shore.
He was well received by the natives, and succeeded so effectually
in calming their fears, that before evening there were more than six-
teen canoes about the ships, bringing cotton yarn and other simple
articles of traffic of these islanders. Columbus forbade all trading
for any thing but gold, that the natives might be tempted to produce
the real riches of their country. They had none to offer, and were
destitute of all ornaments of the precious metals, excepting one
who wore in his nose a piece of wrought silver. Columbus under-
stood this man to say that the king lived about the distance of four
days' journey in the interior ; that many messengers had been dis-
patched to give him tidings of the arrival of the strangers upon the
coast ; and that in less than three days' time messengers might be
expected from him in return, and many merchants from the interior,
to trade with the ships.

It is curious to observe how ingeniously the imagination of Co-
lumbus deceived him at every step, and how he wove every thing
into a uniform web of false conclusions. Poring over the map of
Toscanelli, referring to the reckonings of his voyage, and musing,
on the misinterpreted words of the Indians, he imagined that he
must be on the borders of Cathay, and about one hundred leagues
from the capital of the Grand Khan. Anxious to arrive there, and
to delay as little as possible in the territories of an inferior prince, he
determined not to await the arrival of messengers and merchants,
but to dispatch two envoys to seek the neighbouring monarch at his
residence.

For this mission he chose two Spaniards, Rodrigo de Jerez and
Luis de Torres ; the latter a converted Jew, who knew Hebrew and
Chaldaic, and even something of Arabic ; one or other of which
languages, Columbus supposed might be known to this oriental
prince. Two Indians were sent with them as guides, one a native
of Guanahani, and the other an inhabitant of the hamlet on the
bank of the river. The ambassadors were furnished with strinffs

120 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF Book IV.

of beads, and other trinkets for their travelHng expenses. Instruc-
tions were given them to inform the king that Columbus had been
sent by the Castilian sovereigns, a bearer of letters and a present,
which he was to deliver personally, for the purpose of establishing
an amicable intercourse between the powers. They were likewise
instructed to inform themselves accurately about the situation and
distances of certain provinces, ports and rivers, which the Admiral
specified by name from the descriptions which he had of the coast
of Asia. They were moreover provided with specimens of spices
and drugs, for the purpose of ascertaining whether any precious
articles of the kind abounded in the country. With these provisions
and instructions, the ambassadors departed, six days being allowed
them to go and return. Many at the present day will smile at this
embassy to a naked savage chieftain in the interior of Cuba, in mis-
take for an Asiatic monarch ; but such was the singular nature of
this voyage, a continual series of golden dreams, and all interpreted
by the deluding volume of Marco Polo.

CHAPTER IV.

rURTHER COASTING OF CUBA.

While awaiting the return of his ambassadors, the admiral ordered
the ships to be careened and repaired; and employed himself in col-
lecting information concerning the country. On the day after their
departure, he ascended the river in boats, for the distance of two
leagues, until he came to fresh water. Here landing, he ascended
a hill to command a prospect over the interior. His view, however,
was shut in by thick and lofty forests of the most wild but beautiful
luxuriance. Among the trees were some which he considered to be
thelinaloes; many were odoriferous, and he doubted not possessed
valuable aromatic qualities. There was a general eagerness among
the voyagers to find the precious articles of commerce which grow
in the favoured climes of the east; and their imaginations were con-
tinually deceived by their hopes.

For two or three days the admiral was excited by reports of cin-
namon trees and nutmegs, and rhubarb, being found, but on examina-

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 121

tion thej all proved fallacious. He showed the natives specimens
of those and various other spices and drugs which he had brought
with him from Spain, and he understood from them that those articles
were to be found in abundance to the southeast. He showed them
gold and pearls also ; whereupon several old Indians informed him
that there was a country where the natives wore ornaments of then^
in their ears, and round the neck, arms, and ankles. They repeat-
edly mentioned the word Bohio, which Columbus supposed to be the
name of the place in question, and that it was some rich district or
island. They mingled however great extravagancies with their
imperfect accounts, describing nations at a distance, who had but
one eye; others who had the heads of dogs, and who were cannibals,
cutting the throats of their prisoners and sucking their blood. *^

All these reports of gold and pearls and spices, many of which
were probably fabrications to please the admiral, tended to keep up
the persuasion that he was among the valuable coasts and islands
of the east. On making a fire to heat tar for careening the ships,
the seamen found that the wood they burnt sent forth a powerful
odour, and, on examining it, declared that it was mastic. The wood
abounded in the neighbouring forests, in so much that Columbus flat-
tered himself a thousand quintals of this precious gum might be
collected every year; and a more abundant supply procured than
that furnished by Scios, and other islands of the Archipelago. In
the course of their researches in the vegetable kingdom, in quest of
the luxuries of commerce, they met with the potato, an humble root,
little valued at the time, but a more precious acquisition to man than
all the spices of the east.

On the 6th of November, the two ambassadors returned, and every
one crowded to hear tidings of the interior of the country, and of the
prince to whose capital they had been sent. After penetrating twelve
leagues, they had come to a village of fifty houses, built similar to
those of the coast, but larger; the whole village containing at least
a thousand inhabitants. The natives received them with great
solemnity; conducted them to the best house, and placed them in what
appeared to be intended for chairs of state, being wrought out of
single pieces of wood, into the forms of quadrupeds. They then
offered them the principal articles of their food, fruits and vegetables.
When they had complied with the laws of savage courtesy and hos-
pitality, they seated themselves on the ground around their visiters,
and waited to hear what they had to communicate.

The Israelite, Luis de Torres, found his Hebrew, Chaldaic and

* Primer viage de Colon. Nararrete, T. 1, p. 48, L

122 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IV.

Arabic of no avail, and the Lucayan interpreter had to be the orator.
He made a regular speech, after the Indian manner, in which he
extolled the power, the wealth and munificence of the white men.
When he had finished, the Indians crowded round these wonderful
beings, whom as usual they considered more than human. Some
touched them, examining their skins and raiment, others kissed their
hands and feet, in token of submission or adoration. In a little
while the men withdrew, and were succeeded by the women, and the
same ceremonies were repeated. Some of the women had a slight
covering of netted cotton round the middle, but most of the inhabit-
ants, of both sexes, were entirely naked. There seemed to be some-
thing like ranks and orders of society among them, and a chieftain
who had some authority ; whereas in all the natives they had pre-
viously met with among the islands, a complete equality had appeared
to prevail.

Such were all the traces they found of the oriental city and court
which they had anticipated. There was no appearance of gold, or
other precious articles ; and when they showed specimens of cinna-
mon, pepper, and other spices, the inhabitants told them those were
not to be found in that neighbourhood, but far oflT to the southwest.

The envoys determined, therefore, to return to the ships. The
natives would fain have induced them to remain for several days,
but seeing them bent on departing, a great number were anxious to
accompany them, imagining they were about to return to the skies.
They took with them, however, only one of the principal men, with
his son, who were attended by a domestic.

On their way back, they for the first time witnessed the use of a
weed, which the ingenious caprice of man has since converted into
an universal luxury, in defiance of the opposition of the senses.
They beheld several of the natives going about with fire-brands in
their hands, and certain dried herbs, which they rolled up in a
leaf, and lighting one end, put the other end in their mouths, and
continued exhaling and puffing out the smoke. A roll of this kind
they called a tobacco, a name since transferred to the plant of which
the rolls were made. The Spaniards, although prepared to meet
with wonders, were struck with astonishment at this singular and
apparently nauseous indulgence.*

On their return to the ships, they gave favourable accounts of the
beauty and fertility of the country. They had met with many
hamlets of four or five houses, well peopled, embowered among trees

* Primer viage de Colon. Navarrete, T. 1, p. 51. Las Cases, Hist. Ind. L. 1,
C 46.

II

Chap, IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. .

laden with unknown fruits of tempting hue and delightful flavour.
Around them were fields planted with the agi, or sweet pepper, with
potatoes, with maize or Indian corn, and with a species of lupin or
pulse. There were fields also of the plant, of the roots of which
they made their cassava bread. These, with the fruits of their groves,
formed the principal food of the natives, who were extremely frugal
and simple in their diet. There were vast quantities of cotton, some
just sown, some in full growth, and some wrought into yarn, or into
nets of which they made their hamacs ; of this there was great store,
both wrought and unwrought, in the houses. They had seen many
birds of rare plumage, but of unknown species ; many ducks ,* several
small partridges, and, like Columbus, they had heard the song of a
bird which they had mistaken for the nightingale. All that they had
seen, however, betokened a primitive and simple state of society ; for
with all its beauty, the country was in a wild uncuhivated state. The
wonder with which they had been regarded, showed clearly that the
people were strangers to civilized man, nor could they hear of any
inland city superior to the one they had visited.

The report of the envoys put an end to many splendid fancies of
Columbus about this barbaric prince and his capital. He was
cruising, however, in a region of enchantment, in which pleasing
chimeras started up at every step, each exercising in its turn a delu-
sive power over his imagination. During the absence of the emis-
saries, the Indians had informed him by signs, of a place to the east-
ward, where the people collected gold along the river banks by
torch-light, and afterwards wrought it into bars with hammers. In
speaking of this place, they again used the words Babeque and
Bohio, which Columbus as usual supposed to be the proper names
of islands or countries. The true meaning of these words has been
variously explained. It is said that they were applied by the In-
dians to the coast of terra firma, called also by them Caritaba.* It
is also said that Bohio means a house, and was often used by the
Indians to signify the populousness of an island. Hence it was
frequently applied to Hispaniola, as well as the more general name
of Hayti, which means high land, and occasionally Quisqueya, (i. e.
the whole) on account of its extent.f The misapprehension of these
and other words was a source of perpetual error to Columbus.
Sometimes he confounded Babeque and Bohio together, as if signify-
ing the same island ; sometimes they were different, and existing in
different quarters ; and Quisqueya he supposed must mean Quisai or
Quinsai (i. e. the celestial city) of which, as has already been men-

♦ Muiioz, Hist. N. Mundo, L. 3. f Idem.

124 LIFE AND /OYAGES OF [Book IV

tioned, he had received so magnificent an idea from the writings of
the Venetian traveller.

The great object of Columbus was to arrive at some opulent and
civilized country of the east, where he might establish a commercial
relation with its sovereign, and carry home a quantity of oriental
merchandise, as a rich trophy of his discovery. The season was
advancing ; the cool nights gave hints of approaching winter ; he
resolved therefore not to proceed farther to the north, nor to linger
about uncivilized places, which eut present he had not the means of
colonizing. Conceiving himself to be on the eastern coast of Asia,
he determined to turn to the east-southeast, in quest of Babeque,
which he trusted might prove some rich and civilized island.

Before leaving the river, to which he had gi^ven the name of Rio
de Mares, he' took several of the natives to carry with him to Spain,
for the purpose of teaching them the language, that on future
voyages they might serve as interpreters. He took them of both
sexes; having learned from the Portuguese discoverers, that the men
always were more contented on the voyage, and serviceable on their
return, when accompanied by females^ In his own enthusiasm, and
the religious temper of the day, he anticipated great triumphs to the
faith, and glory to the crown^ from the conversion of these savage
nations, through the means of the natives thus instructed. He
ianagined that the Indians had no system of religion^ but a disposi-
tion to receive its impressions; as they looked on with great reve-
rence and attention at the religious ceremonies of the Spaniards;
soon repeating by rote any prayer that was taught them, and
making- the sign of the cross with the most edifj^ing devotion. They
had an idea of a future state, but limited and confused. It w^as
difficult for mere savages to coticeive an idea of pure spiritual exist-
ence and delight, separate from the joys of sense, or from those beau-
tiful scenes which have been their favourite resorts while living.
Peter Martyr, a cooitemporary of Columbus, mentions the idea of the
Indians on this subject. " They confess the soul to be immortal j
and having put off the bodily clothing, they imagine it goeth forth
to the woods and the mountains, and that it liveth there perpetually
in caves; nor do they exempt it from eating and drinking, but that it
should be fed there. The answering voices heard from caves and
hollows, which the Latins call echoes, they suppose to be the souls
of the departed, wandering through those places."*

From the naturai tendency to devotion which Columbus thought

* Peter Martyr, Decad. 8, L. 9. M. Lok's translation* 1612.

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 12

he discovered among these poor people, from their gentle natures,
and their ignorance of all warlike arts, he pronounces it an easy
matter to make them all devout members of the church, and loyal
subjects of the crown. He concludes his speculations upon the ad-
vantages to be derived from the colonization of these parts, by anti-
cipating a great trade there for gold, which must abound in the in-
terior ; for pearls and precious stones, of which, though he had seen
none, he had received frequent accounts ; for gums and spices, of
which he thought he had found indubitable traces; and for the
cotton, which grew wild in vast quantities. Many of these articles,
he observed, would probably find a nearer market than Spain, in the
ports and cities of tlie Great Khan, at which he had no doubt of soon
arriving.*

CHAPTER V.

SEABCH AFTER THE SUPPOSED ISLAND OF BABEQUE DESERTION

OF THE PINTA.

[1492.]

On the 12th of November Columbus turned his course to the east-
southeast, to follow back the direction of the coast. This may be
considered another critical change in his voyage, which had a great
effect on his subsequent discoveries. He had proceeded far within
what is called the old channel, between Cuba and the Bahamas. In
two or three days more, he would have discovered his mistake in sup-
posing Cuba a part of Terra Firma ; an error in which he continued
to the day of his death. He might have had intimation, also, of the
vicinity of the continent, and have stood for the coast of Florida, or
have been carried thither by the gulf stream ; or, continuing along
Cuba, where it bends to the southwest, might have struck over to the
opposite coast of Yucatan, and have realized his most sanguine
anticipations, in becoming the discoverer of Mexico. It was suffi-
cient glory for Columbus, however, to have discovered a new world.
Its more golden regions were reserved to give splendour to succeeding
enterprises.

He now ran along the coast for two or three days, without atop-

• Primer viage de Colon. Navarrete, T. I,

L8

126f LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IV,

ping to explore it. No populous towns or cities were to be seen,
which if near the sea, would have been visible from the ships. Passing
by a great cape, to which he gave the name of Cape Cuba, he struck
eastward, to sea, in search of Babeque, but was obliged, on the 14th,
to put back, in consequence of a head wind and boisterous sea. He
anchored, therefore, ig a deep and secure harbour, to which he gave
the name of Puerto del Principe ; and passed a few days exploring
with his boats an archipelago of small but beautiful islands in the
vicmity, since known as El Jardin del Rey, or the king's garden.
The gulf studded with these islands, he named the Sea of Nuestra
Senora : in modern days it has been a lurking place for pirates, who
have found secure shelter and concealment among the channels and
solitary harbours of this archipelago. These islands were covered
with noble trees, among which the Spaniards fancied they discovered
mastic and aloes. While at the Puerto del Principe, Columbus ele-
vated a cross in a lofty and conspicuous place adjacent to the harbour,
his usual sign of having taken possession.

On the 19th he again put to sea, in almost a calm ; but the wind
springing from the eastward, he stood away off to the north-north-
east, and at sundown was seven leagues distant from Puerto del Prin-
cipe. Land was now descried directly east, about sixty miles distant,
which, from the signs of the natives, he supposed to be the long-
desired island of Babeque. He continued all night to the northeast.
On the following day, the wind continued contrary, blowing directly
from the quarter to which he wished to steer. He was for some time
within sight of the island of Isabella, but forbore to touch there, lest
his Indian interpreters, who were from the island of Guanahani, only
eight leagues from that of Isabella,* might desert ; the poor savages
keeping a wishful eye in the diiection of their home.

Finding the wind obstinately adverse, and the sea rough, Colum-
bus at length put his ship about, to return to Cuba, making signals
to his companions to do the same. The Pinta, however, commanded
by Martin Alonzo Pinzon, had by this time gradually worked a con-
siderable distance to the eastward. As he could speedily rejoin the
other vessels with the wind astern, Columbus repeated his signals,
hut still they were unattended to. Night coming on, he shortened
sail, and hoisted signal lights to the mast head, thinking that Pinzon
would yet join him ; but when morning dawned the Pinta was na
longer to be seen.f

* Journal of Colomb. Navarrete, CoHec. T. 1, p. $1.

t Las Casas, Hist. Ind. T. 1, C. 27. Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 99. Joarnal of
Columbus. Navarrete. Collec. T. 1.

I

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 127

Columbus was exceedingly indignant at this evident desertion.
Independent of its being a flagrant example of insubordination, he
suspected some sinister design. Pinzon had long shown great impa-
tience of the domination of the admiral. He was a veteran navi-
gator, the oracle of the maritime community of Palos, and accus-
tomed, from his wealth and standing, to give the law among his nau-
tical associates. He had ill brooked, therefore, being obliged to sail,
in a subordinate capacity, in an expedition which had in a great
measure been aided by his purse and manned and fitted out through
his influence and exertions. On various occasions he had assumed
a tone of authority as if entitled to equal command with the admi-
ral, and several disputes had in consequence ensued between them.
When Columbus, therefore, saw him thus wilfully depart from the
squadron, and steer widely asunder, in these unknown seas, without
any plan or point of reunion, he feared his being actuated by selfish
and perfidious motives. Either Pinzon intended to take upon him-
self a separate command and to prosecute the enterprise in his own
name ; if so, while Columbus might be wasting his time in explor-
ing some unprofitable line of coast, he might strike at once to the
golden point and anticipate its honours and advantages. Or it might
be his intention to hasten back to Spain. In such case he would
doubtless seek to excuse his conduct by misrepresentations injurious
to the character of Columbus, and detrimental to his future expedi-
tions. He might even try to forestall him with the public and to bear
off* the glory of the discovery.

All these considerations were extremely embarrassing, but Colum-
Dus had no alternative. To pursue the track of Pinzon was fruitless ;
he was already far out of sight, his vessel was a superior sailer, and
it was impossible to say what course he might steer in the watery
wilderness before him. Columbus relinquished the attempt, and,
with his remaining ships, pursued his way back to Cuba, to con-
tinue to explore its coasts ; but he no longer possessed the undisturbed
unity of thought and purpose that had hitherto actuated him, for his
mind was occasionally agitated by the idea that Pinzon might be tra-
versing his plans, or snatching away his laurels.

On the 24th of November, he regained Point Cuba, and anchored
in a fine harbour formed by the mouth of a river, to which he gave
the name of St. Catharine. It was bordered by rich meadows, the
neighbouring mountains were well wooded, there were pines tall
enough to make masts for the finest ships, and noble oaks. In the
bed of the river they found stones veined with gold.

Columbus continued for several days coasting the residue of Cuba,
extolling in rapturous terms the magnificence, freshness, and verdure

128

LIFE AND VOYAGES OP

[Book IV.

of the scenery; the purity of the rivers, and the number and com-
modiousness of its harbours. His description of one place, to which
he gave the name of Puerto Santo, is a specimen of his vivid
and artless feeling for the beauties of nature. '' The amenity of
this river, and the clearness of the water, through which the sand
at the bottom may be seen ; the multitude of palm trees of various
forms, the highest and most beautiful that I have met with, and an
infinity of other great and green trees ; the birds in rich plumage,
and the verdure of the fields, render this country, most serene prin-
ces, of such marvellous beauty, that it surpasses all others in charms
and graces, as the day doth the night in lustre. For which reason
I often say to my people, that, much as I endeavour to give a com-
plete account of it to your majesties, my tongue cannot express the
whole truth, nor my pen describe it; and I have been so over-
whelmed at the sight of so much beauty, that I have not known
how to relate it."*

The transparency of the water which Columbus attributed to the
purity of the rivers, is the property of the ocean in these latitudes.
So clear is the sea in the neighbourhood of some of these islands,
that in still weather, the bottom may be seen as in a crystal fountain,
and the inhabitants dive down four and five fathoms in search of
conchs and other shell-fish, which are visible from the surface. The
delicate air, and pure waters of these islands, are among their great-
est charms.

As a proof of the gigantic vegetation of these coasts, Columbus
mentions the enormous size of the canoes formed from single trunks
of trees. One that he saw was capable of containing one hundred
and fifty persons. Among other articles found in the Indian dwell-
mgs was a cake of wax. Columbus took it to present to the Cas-
tilian sovereigns ; " for where there is wax," said, he, " there must
be a thousand other good things."! It is since supposed to have
been brought from Yucatan, as the inhabitants of Cuba were not ac-
customed to gather wax.;}:

On the 5th of December, Columbus reached the eastern end of
Cuba, which he supposed to be the eastern extremity of Asia, or, as
he always termed it, India : he gave it therefore the name of Alpha
and Omega, the beginning and the end. He was now greatly per-
plexed what course to take. He felt a desire to follow along the
coast, as it bent off to the southwest, which might bring him to the
more civilized and opulent parts of India. On the other hand, if

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 29.
J Herrera Hist. Ind. Decad. 1.

t Journal of Columb. Navarrete, T. 1,

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 129

he took this course, he must abandon all hope of finding the Island
of Babeque, which the Indians now said, lay to the northeast,
and of which they still continued to give the most marvellous
accounts. It was a state of embarrassment characteristic of this
extraordinary voyage, to have a new and unknown world thus
spread out to the choice of the explorer, where wonders and beau-
ties invited him on every side; but where, whichever way he
turned, he might leave the true region of profit and delight
behind.

CHAPTER VI.

DISCOVERY OF HISPANIOLA.
[1492.]

While Columbus was steering at large beyond the eastern extremity
of Cuba, undetermined what course to take, he descried land to the
southeast, which gradually increased upon the view ; its high niGUIi"
tains towering above the clear horizon, and giving evidence of an
island of great extent. The Indians on beholding it exclaimed
Bohio, the name by which Columbus understood them to designate
some country which abounded in gold. When they saw him stand-
ing on in that direction, they showed great signs of terror, imploring
him not to visit it, assuring him by signs that the inhabitants were
fierce and cruel, that they had but one eye, and were cannibals.
The wind being unfavourable, and the nights long, during which
they did not dare to make sail in these unknown seas, they were a
great part of two days working up to the Island.

In the transparent atmosphere of the tropics, objects are descried
at a great distance, and the purity of the air, and serenity of the
deep blue sky, give a magical effect to scenery. Under these advan-
tages, the beautiful island of Hayti revealed itself to the eye as they
approached. Its mountains were higher and more rocky than those
of the other islands; but the rocks reared themselves from among
rich forests. The mountains swept down into luxuriant plains, and
green savannahs, while the appearance of cultivated fields, with

Vol. I. 9

130

UFE AND VOYAGES OF

[Book IV.

the numerous fires at night, and the columns of smoke which rose
in various parts by day, all showed it to be populous, i It rose before
them in all the splendour of tropical vegetation, one of the most
beautiful islands in the world, and doomed to be one of the most un-
fortunate.

In the evening of the sixth of December, Columbus entered a
harbour at the western end of the island, to which he gave the name
of St. Nicholas, by which it is called at the present day. The har-
bour was spacious and deep, surrounded with large trees, many of
them laden with fruit; while a beautiful plain extended in front of
the port, traversed by a fine stream of water. From the number of
canoes seen in various parts, there were evidently large villages in
the neighbourhood but the natives had fled with terror at sight of the
ships.

Leaving the harbour of St. Nicholas on the 7th, they coasted
along the northern side of t'he island. It was lofty and mountainous,
but with green savannahs and long sweeping plains. At one place
they caught a view up a rich and smiling valley, that ran far into
the interior, between two mountains, and appeared to be in a high
state of cultivation.

For several days they were detained in a harbour which they
called Fort Conception; a small river emptied into it, after winding
through a delightful country. The coast abounded with fish, some
of which even leapt into their boats. They cast their nets, there-
fore, and caught great quantities, and among them several of kinds
similar to those of Spain ; the first fish they had met with resembling
those of their own country. They heard also the notes of the bird
which they mistook for the nightingale, and of several others to
which they were accustomed. These, by the simple associations of
idea which speak to the heart, reminded them strongly of the groves
of their distant Andalusia. They fancied the features of the sur-
rounding country resembled those of the more beautiful provinces of
Spain, and in consequence of this idea, the admiral named the island
Hispaniola.

There were traces of rude cultivation in the neighbourhood of the
harbour, but the natives had abandoned the coast on their arrival.
They at one time saw five lurking at a distance, who escaped on
being approached. Columbus, desirous of establishing some inter-
course, dispatched six men well armed into the interior. They
found several cultivated fields, and traces of roads, and places where
fires had been made, but the inhabitants had fied with terror to the
mountains.

Though the whole country was solitary and deserted, Columbui

CttAP. VI. CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 131

consoled himself with the idea, that there must be populous towns in
the interior, where the people had taken refuge, and that the fires he
had beheld, had been signal fires, like those lighted up on the moun-
tains in the old countries, in the times of Moorish war and sudden
ravages of the seaboards, to warn the peasantry to fly from the coast.

On the 12th of December, Columbus, with great solemnity, erected
a cross on a commanding eminence at the entrance of the harbour,
in sign of having taking possession. As three sailors were rambling
about the vicinity, they beheld a large number of the natives, who
immediately took to flight, but the sailors pursued them, and with
great difficulty succeeded in overtaking a young and handsome
female, and brought their wild beauty in triumph to the ships. She
was perfectly naked, which was a bad omen as to the civiUzation of
the island, but an ornament of gold which she wore in the nose, gave
hopes that the precious metals were to be found there. The admiral
soon soothed her terrors by his kindness. He had her clothed, and
made her presents of beads, brass rings, hawks' bells, and other
trinkets, and sent her on shore, accompanied by several of the crew,
and three of the Indian interpreters. So well pleased was this simple
savage with her finery, and so won by the kind treatment she had
experienced, that she would gladly have remained with the Indian
women whom she found on board.

The party which had been sent with her returned on board late in
the night, finding that her village was far distant, and fearing to
venture inland. Confident of the favourable impression which the
report given by the woman must produce, the admiral on the fol-
lowing day, dispatched nine stouthearted, well-armed men, to seek
the village, accompanied by a native of Cuba, as an interpreter.
They found the village about four and a half leagues to the south-
east, situated in a fine valley on the banks of a beautiful river.* It
contained one thousand houses, but all deserted, for they had beheld
the inhabitants flying as they approached. The interpreter was
sent after them, who with great difficulty quieted their terrors, as-
suring them of the goodness of these strangers, who had descended
from the skies, and went about the world making precious and
beautiful presents. Thus assured, the natives ventured back, to the
number of two thousand. They approached the nine Spaniards
with slow and trembling steps, often pausing and putting their hands
upon their heads, in token of profound reverence and submission.

* This village was formerly known by the name of Gros Mome, situated on the
banks of the river of " Trois Rivieres," which empties itself half a mile west ot
Port de Paix. Navarrete, T. 1.

132

LIFE AND VOYAGES OF

[Book IV.

They were a well formed race, fairer and handsomer than the na-
tives of the other islands.!

While the Spaniards were conversing with them by means of their
interpreter, they beheld another multitude approaching. These
were headed by the husband of the female Indian who had been en-
tertained on board of the ships the preceding evening. They brought
her in triumph on their shoulders, and the husband was profuse in
his gratitude for the kindness with which she had been treated, and
the magnificent presents which had been bestowed upon her.

The Indians having now become more familiar with the Span-
iards, and having in some measure recovered from their extreme
fear, conducted them to their houses, and set before them cassava
bread, fish, roots, and fruit of various kinds. Learning from the in-
terpreter that the Spaniards were fond of parrots, they brought great
numbers of them which they had domesticated, and indeed offered
freely whatever they possessed: such was the frank hospitality which
reigned throughout the island, where as yet the passion of avarice
was unknown.

The great river which flowed through this valley was bordered
with noble forests, among which were palms, bananas, and many
trees covered with fruit and flowers. The air was mild as in April;
the birds sang all day long, and some were even heard in the night.
The Spaniards had not learnt as yet to account for the diflference of
seasons in this opposite part of the globe; they were astonished to
hear the voice of this supposed nightingale singing in the midst of
December, and considered it a proof that there was no winter in this
happy climate. They returned to the ships enraptured with the
beauty of the country; surpassing, as they said, even the luxuriant
plains of Cordova. All that they complained of was that they saw
no signs of riches among the natives.

And here it is impossible to refrain from dwelling on the picture
given by the first discoverers, of the state of manners in this eventful
island before the arrival of the white men. According to their ac-
counts, the people of Hayti existed in that state of primitive and
savage simplicity, which some philosophers have fondly pictured as
the most enviable on earth: surrounded by natural blessings, without
even a knowledge of artificial wants. The fertile earth produced
the chief part of their food almost without culture; their rivers and
seacoast abounded with fish, and they caught the utia, the guana,
and a variety of birds. This, to beings of their frugal and temperate
habits, was great abundance ; and what nature furnished thus spon-

t Las Casas, Lib. 1, Cap. 53. MS.

I

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 133

taneously, they willingly shared with all the world. Hospi-
tality, we are told, was with them a law of nature universally ob-
served; there was no need of being known, to receive its succours,
every house was as open to the stranger as his own.* Columbus,
too, in a letter to Luis de St. Angel, observes: " True it is, that after
they felt confidence and lost their fear of us, they were so liberal
with what they possessed, that it would not be believed by those who
had not seen it. If any thing was asked of them they never said
no; but rather gave it cheerfully, and showed as much amity as if
they gave their very hearts; and whether the thing were of value or
of little price, they were content with whatever was given in return.
* * * In all these islands it appears to me that the men are all
content with one wife, but they give twenty to their chieftain or
king. The women seem to work more than the men; and I have
not been able to understand whether they possess individual pro-
perty; but rather think that whatever one has, all the rest share,
especially in all articles of provisions."!

One of the most pleasing descriptions of the inhabitants of this
island is given by old Peter Martyr, who gathered it, as he says,
from the conversations of the admiral himself.

"It is certain," says he, "that the land among these people is aa^
common as the sun and water; and that 'mine and thine,' the seeds
of all mischief, have no place with them. They are content with so
little, that in so large a country they have rather superfluity than
scarceness; so that they seem to live in the golden world, without
toil; living in open gardens, not entrenched with dykes, divided with
hedges, or defended with walls. They deal truly one with another,
without laws, without books, and without judges. They take him
for an evil and mischievous man, who taketh pleasure in doing hurt
to another; and albeit they delight not in superfluities, yet they make
provision for the increase of such roots whereof they make their
bread, contented with such simple diet, whereby health is preserved
and disease avoided ."|

Much of this picture may be overcoloured by the imagination, but
it is generally confirmed by contemporary historians. They all
concur in representing the life of these islanders as approaching to
the golden state of poetical felicity; living under the absolute, but
patriarchal, and easy rule of their caciques, free from pride, with few
wants, an abundant country, a happily tempered climate, and a
natural disposition to careless and indolent enjoyment.

* Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming. L. 1.

t Letter of Columb. to Luis de St. Angel. Navarrete, T. 1, p. 167.

X P. Martyr, Dccad. 1, Lib. 3. Translat. of Rich'd Ed«n, 1555.

M

134

LIFE AND VOYAGES OF

[Book IV.

CHAPTER VIL

COASTING OF HISPANIOLA.

[1492.]

When the weather became favourable, Columbus made another
attempt, on the 14th December, to find the island of pabeque, but
was again baffled by adverse winds. In the course of this attempt
he visited an island lying opposite to the harbour of Conception, to
which, from its abounding in turtle, he gave the name of Tortugas.
The natives had fled to the rocks and forests, and alarm fires blazed
along the heights, from which circumstance he inferred that they
were more subject to invasion than the other islanders. The country
was so beautiful, that he gave to one of the valleys the name of Valle
de Paraiso, or the Vale of Paradise, and called a fine stream the
Guadalquiver, after that renowned river which flows through some
of the fairest provinces of Spain.*

Setting sail on the 16th December, at midnight, Columbus steered
again for Hispaniola. When half way across the gulf which
separates the islands, he perceived a canoe navigated by a single
Indian, and, as on a former occasion, was astonished at his hardi-
hood in venturing so far from land in so frail a bark, and at his
adroitness in keeping it above water, as the wind was fresh, and
there was some sea running. He ordered both him and his canoe to
be taken on board, and having anchored near a village on the coast
of Hispaniola, at present known as Puerto de Paz, he sent him on
shore, well regaled, and enriched with various presents.

In the early intercourse with these people kindness never seems to
have failed in its effect. The favourable accounts given by this
Indian, and by those with whom the Spaniards had communicated
on their previous landings, dispelled the fears of the islanders, A
friendly intercourse soon took place, and the ships were visited by a
cacique of the neighbourhood. From this chieftain and his coun
sellers Columbus had further information of the island of Babeque,
which was described as lying at no great distance. No mention is
afterwards made of this island, nor does it appear that Columbus made

• Primer viage de colon. Natarrete, Collec. T. 1.

Chap. VII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 135

any further attempt to seek it. No such island exists on the ancient
charts, and it is probable that this was one of the numerous
misinterpretations of Indian words, which led Columbus and others
of the first discoverers into so many fruitless researches. The people
of Hispaniola appeared handsomer to Columbus than any he had
yet met with, and of a gentle and peaceable disposition ; some of them
had trifling ornaments of gold, which they readily gave away, or
exchanged for any trifle. The country was finely diversified with
lofty mountains, and green valleys which stretched away inland as
far as the eye could reach. The mountains were of such easy
ascent, that the highest of them might be ploughed with oxen, and
the luxuriant growth of the forests manifested the fertility of the
soil. The valleys were watered by numerous clear and beautiful
streams; they appeared to be cultivated in many places, and to be
fitted for grain, for orchards and pasturage.

While detained at this harbour by contrary winds, Columbus was
visited by a young cacique of apparently great importance. He was
borne by four men on a sort of litter, and attended by two hundred
of his subjects. The admiral being at dinner when he arrived, the
young chieftain ordered his followers to remain without, and, enter^
ing the cabin took his seat beside Columbus, not permitting him to
rise or use any ceremony. Only two old men entered with him,
who appeared to be his counsellors, and who seated themselves at his
feet. If any thing were given him to eat or drink, he merely tasted
it, and sent it to his followers, maintaining an air of great gravity
and dignity. He spoke but little, his two counsellors watching his
lips, and catching and communicating his ideas. After dinner he
presented the admiral with a belt curiously wrought, and two pieces
of gold. Columbus gave him a piece of cloth, several amber beads,
coloured shoes, and a flask of orange flower water. He showed him
Spanish coin, on which were the likenesses of the king and queen,
and endeavoured to explain to him the power and grandeur of those
sovereigns; he displayed also the royal banners and the standard
of the cross, but it was all in vain to attempt to convey any clear
idea by these symbols; the cacique could not be made to believe that
there was a region on the earth which produced these wonderful
people and wonderful things; he joined in the common idea that the
Spaniards were more than mortal, and that the country and
sovereigns they talked of must exist somewhere in the skies.

In the evening the cacique was sent on shore in the boat with great
ceremony, and a salute fired in honour of him. He departed in the
state in which he had come, carried on a litter accompanied by a
great concourse of his subjects. Not far behind him was his son,

136 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF fBooK IV.

borne and escorted in like manner; and his brother, on foot, supported
by two attendants. The presents which he had received from the
admiral were carried before him with great ceremony.

They procured but little gold in this place, though whatever orna-
ments the natives possessed they readily gave away. The region of
promise still lay farther on, and one of the old counsellors of the
cacique told Columbus that he would soon arrive at islands rich in
the precious ore. Before leaving this place, the admiral caused a
large cross to be erected in the centre of the village, and from the
readiness with which the Indians assisted, and their implicit imita-
tion of the Spaniards in their acts of adoration, he inferred that it
would be an easy matter to convert them all to Christianity.

On the 19th of December they made sail before daylight, but with
unfavorable wind; and, on the evening of the 20th they anchored
in a fine harbour, to which Columbus gave the name of St. Thomas,
supposed to be what at present is called tJie Bay of Acul. It was
surrounded by a beautiful and well peopled country. The inhabit-
ants came off to the ships, some in canoes, some swimming, bringing
fruits of various unknown kinds of great fragrance and flavour.
These they gave freely, with whatever else they possessed, espe-
cially their golden ornaments, which they saw were particularly
coveted by the strangers. There was a remarkable frankness and
generosity about these people; they had no idea of traffic, but gave
every thing with spontaneous liberality. Columbus would not per-
mit his people, however, to take advantage of this free disposition,
but ordered that something should always be given in exchange.
Several of the neighbouring caciques visited the ships, bringing
presents and inviting the Spaniards to their villages; where on going
to land, they were most hospitably entertained.

On the 22d December a large canoe filled with natives came on a
mission from a grand cacique, named Guacanagari, who commanded
all that part of the island. A principal servant of that chieftain
came in the canoe, bringing the Admiral a present of a broad belt
wrought ingeniously with coloured beads and bones, and a wooden
mask, the eyes, nose, and tongue of which were of gold. He
delivered also a message from the cacique begging that the ships
might come opposite to his residence, which was on a part of the
coast a little farther to the eastward. The wind preventing an imme-
diate compliance with this invitation, the admiral sent the notary
of the squadron, with several of the crew to visit the cacique. He
resided in a town situated on a river at what they called Punta
Santa, at present Point Honorata. it was the largest and best built
town they had yet seen. The cacique received thorn in a kind d

Chap. VIIL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 137

public square, which had been swept and prepared for the occasion,
and treated them with great honour, giving to each a dress of cot-
ton. The inhabitants crowded round them, bringing provisions and
refreshments of various kinds. The seamen were received into their
houses as distinguished guests; they gave them garments of cotton,
and whatever else appeared to have value in their eyes, asking
nothing in return, but if any thing were given, appearing to treasure
it up as a sacred relique.

The cacique would have detained them all night, but their orders
obliged them to return. On parting with them he gave them presents
of parrots and of pieces of gold for the admiral; and they were
attended to their boats by a crowd of the natives carrying the pre^
sents for them, and vying with each other in rendering them service.

During their absence the admiral had been visited by a great num-
ber of canoes, and several inferior caciques. All assured him that
the island abounded with wealth ; they talked especially of a region
in the interior, farther to the east, which they called Cibao, the
cacique of which, as far as they could be understood, had banners of
wrought gold. Columbus, deceiving himself as usual, fancied that
this name Cibao must be a corruption of Cipango, and that this chief-
tain with golden banners must be identical with the magnificent
prince of that island mentioned by Marco Polo.*

CHAPTER VIIL

SHIPWRECK.

[1492.]

On the morning of the 24th of December, Columbus set sail from
Port Conception before sunrise, and steered to the eastward, with an
intention of anchoring at the harbour of the cacique Guacanagari.
The wind was from the land, but so light as scarcely to fill the sails,
and the ships made but little progress. At eleven o'clock at night,
being Christmas eve, they were within a league, or a league and a
half, of the residence of the cacique, and Columbus, who had

* Journal of Columb. Navarrete, Collec. T. I. Herrera, Hist. Ind. D. 1, L. 1.
C. 15, 16. Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 30, 31, M 2

18S LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book JV

hitherto kept watch, finding the sea calm and smooth, and the ship
ahuost motionless, retired to take a little rest, not having slept the
preceding night. He was in general extremely wakeful on his
coasting voyages, passing whole nights upon the deck in all wea-
thers; never trusting to the watchfulness of others, where there
was any difficulty or danger to be provided against. In the present
instance, he felt perfectly secure ; not merely on account of the pro-
found calm, but because the boats, on the preceding day in their visit
to the cacique, had reconnoitered- the coast, and had reported that
there were neither rocks nor shoals in their course.

Never was the importance of the eye of a commander more clearly
illustrated. No sooner had the vigilant admiral retired, than the
steersman gave the helm in charge to one of the ship boys and
went to sleep. This was in direct violation of one of the invaria-
ble orders of the admiral, that the helm should never be trusted to
the boys. The rest of the mariners, who had the watch, took like
advantage of the absence of Columbus, and in a little while the
whole crew was buried in sleep. While the security reigned over
the ship, the treacherous currents, which run swiftly along this coast,
carried her quietly, but with force upon a sand bank. The heedless
boy had not noticed the breakers, although they made a roaring that
might have been heard a league. No sooner, however, did he feel
the rudder strike, and hear the tumult of the rushing sea, than he
began to cry for aid, Columbus, whose careful thoughts never per-
mitted him to sleep profoundly, was the first to take the alarm, and
mount the deck. The master of the ship, whose duty it was to have
been on watch, next made his appearance, followed by others of the
crew, half awake, and unconscious of the peril of their situation.
The admiral ordered them to take the boat, and carry out an anchor
astern, that they might endeavour to warp the vessel off. The mas-
ter and the sailors, sprang into the boat ; but they were confused and
seized with a panic, as men are apt to be when suddenly awakened
by an alarm. Instead of obeying the commands of Columbus, they
rowed off to the other caravel, which was about half a league
to windward ; while he, supposing that they were carrying out the
anchor, trusted soon to get the vessel again into deep water.

When the boat arrived at the caravel, and made known the peril-
ous state in which they had left their vessel, they were reproached
with their pusillanimous desertion, and refused admission. The
commander and several of his crew, manning their boat, hastened to
the assistance of the admiral, and were followed by the recreant
^master and his companions, covered with shame and confusion.

They arrived too late to save the ship, for the violent current had

Chap. VIII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 139

set her more and more upon the bank. The admiral, seeing that
his boat had deserted him, that the ship had swung across the stream,
and that the water was continually gaining upon her, had ordered
the mast to be cut away, with the hope of lightening her sufficiently
to float her off. Every effort was in vain. The keel was firmly
bedded in the sand ; the shock had opened several seams ; while the
swell of the breakers striking against her broadside, left her each
moment more and more aground, until she fell over on one side.
Fortunately the weather continued calm, otherwise the ship must
have gone to pieces, and the whole crew might have perished amidst
the currents and breakers.

The admiral and his men took refuge on board the caravel. Diego
de Arana, chief judge of the armament, and Pedro Gutierrez, the
king's butler, were immediately sent on shore as envoys to the ca-
cique Guacaganari, to inform him of the intended visit of the ad-
miral, and of his disastrous shipwreck. In the meantime, as a light
wind had sprung up from shorej and the admiral was ignorant of his
situation, and of the rocks and banks which might be lurking
around him, he lay too until daylight.

The habitation of the cacique was about a league and a half
from the wreck. When Guacanagari heard of the misfortune of
his guests, he manifested the utmost affliction, and even shed tears.
He immediately sent all his people, with all the canoes, large and
small, that could be mustered ; and so active were they in their as-
sistance, that in a little while the vessel was unloaded. The ca-
cique himself, and his brothers and relations, rendered all the aid in
their power, both on sea and land; keeping vigilant guard that
every thing should be conducted with order, and the property
rescued from the wreck be preserved with inviolable fidelity. From
time to time, he sent some one of his family, or some principal per-
son of his attendants, to condole with the admiral, and to entreat
him not to be distressed, for that every thing he possessed should be
at his disposal.

Never, in civilized country, were the vaunted rites of hospitality
more scrupulously observed, than by this uncultured savage. All
the effects landed from the ship were deposited near his dwelling ; and
an armed guard surrounded them all night, until houses could be pre-
pared in which to store them. There seemed, however, even among
the common people, no disposition to take advantage of the misfor-
tune of the strangers. Although they beheld what must in their
eyes have been inestimable treasures, cast as it were upon their shores,
and open to depredation, yet there was not the least attempt to pilfer,
nor in transporting the effects from the ship, had they appropriated

140 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IV.

the most trifling article: on the contrary, a general sympathy was
visible in their countenances and actions; and to have witnessed their
concern, one would have supposed the misfortune had happened to
themselves.*

" So loving, so tractable, so peaceable are these people," says Co-
lumbus in his journal, " that I swear to your majesties there is not
in the world a better nation, or a better land. They love their neigh-
bours as themselves ; and their discourse is ever sweet and gentle,
and accompanied with a smile; and though it is true that they are
naked, yet their manners are decorous and praiseworthy."

CHAPTER IX.

TRANSACTIONS WITH THE NATIVES.
[1492.]

On the twenty-sixth of December, Guacanagari came on board
of the caravel Nina to visit the admiral; and observing him to be
very much dejected, the compassionate heart of the cacique was so
much moved, that he shed tears. He repeated the message which
he had sent, entreating Columbus not to be cast down by his
misfortune, and offering every thing he possessed, that might render
him aid or consolation. He had already given three houses to
shelter the Spaniards, and to receive the effects landed from the
wreck, and he offered to furnish more if necessary.

While they were conversing, a canoe arrived from another part
of the island, bringing pieces of gold to be exchanged for hawks'
bells. There was nothing upon which the natives set so much
value as upon these toys. The Indians were extravagantly fond
of the dance, which they sometimes performed to the cadence
of certain songs, accompanied by the sound of a kind of drum, made
from the trunk of a tree, and the rattling of hollow bits of wood; but
when they hung the hawks' bells about their persons, and heard
their clear musical sound responding to their movements as they
danced, nothing could exceed their wild delight.

* Hist, del AUnirante, C. 32. Las Casas, Lib. 1, C. 9.

Chap. IX.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. t4l

The sailors who came from the shore, informed the admiral that
considerable quantities of gold had been brought to barter, and large
pieces were eagerly given for the merest trifle. This information
had a cheering effect upon Columbus. The attentive cacique,
perceiving the lighting up of his countenance, inquired into what
the sailors had communicated. When he learnt its purport, and
found that the admiral was extremely desirous of procuring gold, he
assured him by signs, that there was a place not far off, among the
mountains, where it abounded to such a degree as to be held in little
value. He promised to procure hiii) from thence as much as he desired.
The place to which he alluded, ana which he called Cibao, was in
fact a mountainous region v/bich me Spaniards afterwards found to
contain valuable mines; but Columbus still confounded the name
with that of Cipango.*

Guacanagari dined on board of the caravel with the admiral,
after which he invited him on shore to visit his residence. Here he
had prepared a collation, as choice and abundant as his simple means
afforded, consisting of utias or ccnevs, fish, roots, and the various
fruits with which the island abounded. The generous cacique did
every thing in his power to honour his guest, and cheer him under
his misfortune, showing a warmtn of sympathy, yet delicacy
of attention, which could not have been expected from his savage
state. Indeed there was a degree of innate dignity and refinement
displayed in his manners that often surprised the Spaniards, He
was remarkably nice and decorous in his mode of eating, which was
slow and with moderation, washing his hands when he had finished,
and rubbing them with sweet and odoriferous herbs; which Colum-
bus supposed was done to preserve their delicacy and softness. He
was served with great deference by his subjects, and conducted
himself, towards them with a gracious and prince-like majesty.
His whole deportment, in the enthusiastic eyes of Columbus, beto-
kened the inborn grace and dignity of lofty lineage. f

In fact, the sovereignty among tne people of this island was
hereditary, and they had a simple but sagacious mode of maintaining
in some degree the verity of descent. On the death of a cacique
without children, his authority passed to those of his sisters, in pre-
ference to those of his brothers, being considered most likely to be of
his blood: for they observed that a brother's reputed children may by
accident have no consanguinity witn their uncle, but those of his
sister must certainly be the children of their mother. The form of

* Primer viage de Colon. Navarrete, T. 1, p. 114.

fLas Casas, L. 1, C. 70. MS. Primer viage de Colon, Navarrete, T. 1, p. 114.

!42 UFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IV.

government was completely despotic; the caciques had entire con-
trol over the lives, the property, and even over the religion of their
subjects. They had few laws, and ruled ac cording to their judg-
ment and their will; but they ruled mildly, and were implicitly and
'^heerfully obeyed. Throughout the course of the disastrous history
of these islanders, after their discovery by the Europeans, there are
continual proofs of their affectionate and devoted fidelity to their
caciques.

After the collation, Guacanagari conducted Columbus to the
beautiful groves which surrounded his residence. They were at-
tended by upwards of a thousand of the natives, all perfectly naked.
Under the shade of their groves, the natives performed several of
their national games and dances, which Guacanagari had ordered,
to amuse the melancholy of his guest.

When the Indians had finished their games, Columbus gave them
an entertainment in return, calculated at the same time to impress
them with a formidable idea of the military power of the Spaniards.
He sent on board the caravel for a Moorish bow, and a quiver of
arrows, and a Castilian, who had served in the wars of Granada,
and was skilful in the use of them. When the cacique beheld the
accuracy with which this man used his weapons, he was greatly
surprised, being himself of an unwarlike character, and little accus-
tomed to the use of arms. He told the admiral that the Caribs, who
often made descents upon his territory, and carried off his subjects,
were likewise armed with bows and arrows. Columbus assured him
of the protection of the Castilian monarchs, who would destroy the
Caribs; for he let him know that he had weapons far more tremen-
dous, against which there was no defence. In proof of this, he or-
dered a Lombard or heavy cannon and an arquebus to be discharged.

At the sound of these weapons, the Indians fell to the ground as
though they had been struck by a thunderbolt ; and when they saw
the effect of the ball, rending and shivering the trees like a stroke
of lightning, they were filled with dismay. On being told, however,
that the Spaniards would defend them with these arms, against the
invasions of their dreaded enemies the Caribs, their alarm was
changed into confident exultation; for they considered themselves
under the protection of the sons of heaven, who had come from the
skies, armed with thunder and lightning.

The cacique now presented Columbus with several of feis national
jewels: a mask carved of wood, with the eyes, ears, and various
other parts of gold; he hung plates of the same metal around his
neck, and placed a kind of golden coronet upon his head. He dis-
played also the natural munificence of his spirit, by dispensing

Chap. IX.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 143

various presents among the followers of the admiral; acquitting him-
self, in all things, in his simple and savage state, in a manner that
would have done honour to an accomplished prince, in civilized life.

Whatever trifles Columbus gave in return, were regarded with
reverence as celestial gifts. The Indians, in admiring all articles of
European manufacture, continually repeated the word Turey, which
in their language signifies heaven. They pretended to distinguish
the different qualities of gold by the smell: in the same way when
any article of tin, of silver, or other white metal was given them, to
which they were unaccustomed, they smelt it, and declared it turey
of excellent quality, giving in exchange pieces of the finest gold.
Every thing, in fact, from the hands of the Spaniards was precious
in their eyes; a rusty piece of iron, an end of a strap, a head of a
nail, every thing had an occult and supernatural value, and smell of
turey. Hawks' bells, however, were sought by them with a mania
only equalled by that of the Spaniards for gold. They could not
contain their ecstacies at their sound, dancing, and playing a thou-
sand antics. On one occasion an Indian gave half a handful of gold
dust in exchange for one of these toys, and no sooner was in posses-
sion of it, than he bounded away to the woods, looking often behind
him, and fearful that the Spaniard would repent of having parted so
cheaply with such an inestimable jewel.*

The extreme kindness of the cacique, the gentleness of his people,
the quantities of gold which were daily brought to be exchanged for
the veriest trifles, and the information continually re(?feived of sources
of wealth in the bosom of this beautiful island, all contributed to
console the admiral for the misfortune he had suffered.

The shipwrecked crew also, living on shore, and mingling freely
with the natives, became fascinated with their easy and idle mode of
life. Exempted by their simplicity from the painful cares and toils
which civilized man inflicts upon himself, by his many artificial
wants, the existence of these islanders seemed to the Spaniards like
a pleasant dream. They disquieted themselves about nothing. A
few fields, cultivated almost without labour, furnished the roots and
vegetables which formed a great part of their diet. Their rivers and
coasts abounded with fish; their trees were laden with fruits of
golden or blushing hue, and heightened by a tropical sun to delicious
flavour and fragrance. Softened by the indulgence of nature, a great
part of their day was passed in indolent repose, in that luxury of
sensation inspired by a serene sky, and a voluptuous climate; and in

144 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IV.

the evenings, they danced in their fragrant groves, to their national
eongs, or the rude sound of their sylvan drums.

Such was the indolent and holj^-day life of these simple people;
which if it had not the great scope of enjoyment, nor the high-sea-
poned poignancy of pleasure, which attends civilization, was cer-
tainly destitute of most of its artificial miseries. The venerable Las
Casas, speaking of their perfect nakedness, observes, it seemed almost
as if they were existing in the state of primeval innocence of our first
parents, before their fall brought shame into the world. He might
have added, that they seemed exempt, likewise, from the penalty in-
flicted on the children of Adam, that they should eat their bread by
the sweat of their brow.

When the Spanish mariners looked back upon their toilsome and
painful life; and reflected on the cares and hardships that must still
be their lot, if they returned to Europe ; it is no wonder that they re
garded with a wistful eye the easy and idle existence of these In-
dians. Wherever they went, they met with caressing hospitality.
The men were simple, frank and cordial; the women loving and
compliant, and prompt to form those connexions which anchor the
most wandering heart. They saw gold glittering around them, to
be had without labour, and every enjoyment to be procured without
cost. Captivated by these advantages, many of the seamen sur-
rounded the admiral; they represented the difficulties and sufferings
which they must encounter on a return voyage, where so many
would be crowded in a small caravel; and they entreated permission
to remain in the island.*

* Primer viage de Colon. Navarrete, T. 1, p. 116.

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 145

CHAPTER X.

BUILDING OF THE FORTRESS OF LA NAVIDAD.
[1492,]

The solicitude expressed by many of his people to fce left behind,
added to the friendly and pacific character of the natives, now sug
gested to Columbus the idea of forming the germ of a future colony.
The wreck of the caravel would afford abundant materials to con-
struct a fortress, which might be defended by her guns, and supplied
with her ammunition; and he could spare provisions enough to main-
tain a small garrison for a year. The people wlio thus remained on
the island could explore it, and make themselves acquainted with its
mines, and other sources of wealth; they might, at the same time,
procure by traffic a large quantity of gold from the natives; they
could learn their language, and accustom themselves to their habits
and manners, so as to be of great use in future intercourse. In the
meantime, the admiral could return to Spain, report the success of
his enterprise, and bring out reinforcements.

No sooner did this idea break upon the mind of Columbus, than he
set about accomplishing it with his accustomed promptness and
celerity. The wreck was broken up and brought piecemeal to shore;
and a site chosen, and preparations made for the erection of a tower.
When Guacanagari was informed of the intention of the admiral to
leave a part of his men for the defence of the island from the Caribs,
while he returned to his country for more, he was greatly overjoyed.
His subjects manifested equal delight at the idea of retaining these
wonderful people among them; and at the prospect of the future arri-
val of the admiral, with ships freighted with hawks' bells, and other
precious articles. They eagerly lent their assistance in building the
fortress ; little dreaming that they were assisting to place on their
necks the galling yoke of perpetual and toilsome slavery.

The preparations for the fortress were scarcely commenced, when
certain Indians, arriving at the harbour, brought a report that a
great vessel, like those of the admiral, had anchored in a river, at the
eastern end of the island. These tidings, for a time, dispelled a
thousand uneasy conjectures v/hich had harassed the mind of Co-
lumbus, for of course this vessel could be no other than the Pinta,

Vol. I. 10 N

l^ LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IV

He immediately procured a canoe from Guacanagari, with several
Indians to navigate it, and he dispatched a Spaniard in it with a
letter to Pinzon, couched in amicable terms, making no complaints of
his desertion, but urging him to join company immediately.

After three days' absence the canoe returned. The Spaniard re-
ported that he had pursued the coast for twenty leagues, but had
neither seen nor heard any thing of the Pinta ; he considered the
eport, therefore, as incorrect. Other rumours, however, were im-
mediately afterwards circulated at the harbour, of this large vessel to
the eastward ; but, on investigation, they appeared to Columbus, to
be equally undeserving of credit. He relapsed therefore into his
doubts and anxieties in respect to Pinzon. Since the shipwreck of
his vessel, the desertion of that commander had become a matter of
still more serious moment, and had obliged him to alter all his plans.
Should the Pinta be lost, as was very possible in a voyage of such
extent and exposed ^o so many uncommon perils, there would then
be but one ship surviving, of the three which had set sail from
Palos ; and that one an indifferent sailor. On the precarious return
of that crazy barque, across an immense expanse of ocean, would
depend the ultimate success of the expedition. Should that one
likewise perish, every record of this great discovery would be swal-
lowed up with it ; the name of Columbus would only be remembered
as that of a mad adventurer, who, despising the opinions of the
learned and the counsels of the wise, had departed into the wilds of
the ocean never to return; the obscurity of his fate, and its imagin-
ed horrors, might deter, all future enterprise, and thus the New
World might remain, as heretofore, unknown to civilized man.
These considerations determined Columbus to abandon all further
prosecution of his voyage, to leave unexplored the magnificent re-
gions which were inviting him on every hand, to give up all hope
for the present of finding his way to the dominions of the Grand
Khan, and to lose no time in returning to Spain, and reporting his
discovery.

While the fortress was building, the admiral continued to receive
every day new proofs of the amity and kindness of Guacanagari.
Whenever he went on shore, to superintend the works, he was en-
tertained in the most hospitable manner by that chieftain. He had
the largest house in the place prepared for his reception, strewed or
carpeted with palm leaves, and furnished with low stools of a black
and shining wood that looked like jet. When he received the ad-
miral, it was always in a style of princely generosity, hanging
around his neck some jewel of gold, or making him some present
of similar value.

Chap. X.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 147

On one occasion he came to meet him on his landing, attended
by five tributary caciques, each wearing a coronet of gold ; they
conducted him with great deference to the house already mentioned,
where, seating him in one of the chairs, Guacaij^gari took off
his own coronet of gold and placed it upon his head; Columbus in
return took from his neck a collar of fine coloured beads, which he
put round that of the cacique, he invested him in a mantle of fine
cloth which he wore, gave him a pair of coloured boots, and put on
his finger a large silver ring ; upon which metal the Indians set a
great value, it not being found in their island. Such were the acts
of kindness and amity continually interchanged between Columbus
and this warm hearted, open-handed cacique.

The latter, also, exerted himself to the utmost, to procure a great
quantity of gold for the admiral before his departure. The supplies
thus furnished, and the vague accounts collected through the medium
of signs and imperfect interpretations, filled the mind of Columbus
with magnificent ideas of the wealth which must exist in the inte-
rior of this island. The names of caciques, mountains, and provin-
ces were confused together in his imagination, and supposed to mean
various places where great treasure was to be found; above all the
name of Cibao continually occurred, which was understood to be
some golden region among the mountains, from whence the natives
procured most of the ore for their ornaments. In the pimiento or
red pepper which abounded in the island, Columbus fancied he found
a trace of oriental spices, and he thought he had met with speci-
mens of rhubarb.

Passing, with his usual buoyancy of spirit, from a state of doubt
and anxiety to one of sanguine anticipation, he now considered his
shipwreck as one of those providential events mysteriously ordained
by heaven to work out the success of his enterprise. Without this
seeming disaster, he should never have remained to find out the
secret wealth of the island, bat should merely have touched at vari-
ous parts of its coast and have passed on. As a proof that the par-
ticular hand of providence was exerted in it, he cites the circumstance
of his having been wrecked in a perfect calm, without wind or wave;
and the desertion of the pilot and mariners when sent to carry out
an anchor astern; for had they performed his orders the vessel would
have been hauled oflf; they would have pursued their voyage, and
the treasures of the island would have remained a secret to them.
But now he looked forward to glorious fruits to be reaped from this
seeming evil; "for he hoped in God," he said, "that when he returned
from Spain he should find a ton of gold collected in trafiic by those
whom he had left behind, and mines and spices discovered in such

i4S LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IV.

quantities that the sovereigns, before three years, would be able to
undertake a crusade for the deliverance of the holy sepulchre, the
grand object to which he had proposed that they should dedicate
the fruits of this enterprise.

Such was the visionary, yet generous, enthusiasm of Columbus,
the moment that prospects of vast wealth broke upon his mind.
What in some spirits would have awakened a grasping and sordid
avidity to accumulate, immediately filled his imagination with plans
of magnificent expenditure. But how vain are our attempts to
interpret the inscrutable decrees of providence! The shipwreck
which Columbus considered an act of divine favour, to reveal to him
the secrets of the land, shackled and limited all his after discoveries.
It linked his fortunes, for the remainder of his life, to this island,
which was doomed to be to him a scene of cares and troubles, to
involve him in a thousand perplexities, and to becloud his declining
years with humiliation and disappointment.

CHAPTER XL

RE6ULATI0N OF THE FORTRESS OF LA NAVIDAD DEPARTURE

OF COLUMBUS FOR SPAIN.

So great wa& the activity of the Spaniards in the construction of
their fortress, and so ample the assistance rendered by the natives,
that in ten days it was sufficiently complete for service. A large
vault had been made, over which was erected a strong wooden tower,
and the whole was surrounded by a wide ditch. It was stored with
all the ammunitions that had been saved from the wreck, or that
could be spared from the caravel, and the guns being mounted, the
whole had a formidable aspect, sufficient to overawe and repulse this
naked and unwarlike people. Indeed Columbus was of opinion
that but little force was necessary to subjugate the whole island.
He considered a fortress, and the restrictions of a garrison more
requisite to keep the Spaniards themselves in order, and to prevent
their wandering about, and committing acts of licentiousness among
the natives.

The fortress being finished, he gave to it, as well as to the adjacent
village, and the harbour, the name of La Navidad, or The Nativity,

Chap. XI.l CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 149

in memorial of their having escaped from shipwreck on Christmas
day. There were many volunteers to remain on the island ; from
whom he selected thirty-nine of the most able and exemplary. The
command of the whole was given to Diego de Arana, a native
of Cordova, and notary and alguazil to the armament, who was to
retain all the powers which had been vested in him by the Catholic
sovereigns. In case of his death he was to be succeeded by Pedro
Gutierrez, and he dying, by Rodrigo de Escobedo. There were also
among the number a physician, a ship carpenter, a caulker, a cooper,
a tailor, and a gunner; all expert at their several callings. The
boat of the wreck was left with them, to be used in fishing; a variety
of seeds to sow; and a large quantity of articles used in Indian
traffic, that they might procure as much gold as possible against the
admiral's return.*

As the time drew nigh for his departure, Columbus assembled the
men who were to remain in the island, and addressed them in the
most earnest and emphatic language. He charged them, in the
name of the sovereigns, to be obedient to the officer to whom he had
intrusted the command: that they should rhaintain the utmost respect
and reverence for the cacique Guacanagari and his chieftains; recol-
lecting how deeply they were indebted to his goodness, and how im-
portant a continuance of it was to their welfare: that they should
be circumspect in their intercourse with the natives, treating them
always with gentleness and justice; avoiding all acts of violence,
and all disputes ; and above all being discreet in their conduct to-
wards the Indian women, the frequent source of troubles and disas-
ters in the intercourse with savage nations. He warned them,
moreover, not to scatter themselves asunder, but to keep together, as
tKey derived safety from their united number ; and that they should
not stray beyond the friendly territory of Guacanagari. He enjoined
it upon Arana, and the other persons in command, to do their utmost
to acquire a knowledge of the productions and mines of the island;
to procure gold and spices ; and to explore the coast in search of a
better situation for a settlement, the present harbour being inconven-
ient and dangerous, on account of the rocks and shoals which beset
its entrance.

On the 2d of January, 1493, Columbus landed to take a farewell
of the generous cacique and his chieftains, intending next day to
set sail. He gave them all a parting feast at the house which had
been devoted to his use, and commended to their kindness the men

♦ Primer Viage de Colon, Navaxrete, T. 1. Hist, del Almirante, C. 33.

N2

150

LIFE AND VOYAGES OF

[Book. IV.

who were to remain, especially Diego de Arana, Pedro Gutierrez,
and Rodrigo de Escobedo, his lieutenants, assuring them that when
he returned from Castile, he would bring abundance of jewels more
precious than any thing he or his people had yet seen. The worthy
Guanacagari showed great concern at the idea of his departure, and
assured him that, as to those who remained, he should furnish them
with provisions, and render them every service in his power.

Once more to impress the islanders with an idea of the v/arlike
powers of the white men, Columbus had skirmishes and mock fights
performed by his crews. In these they made use of their various
arms and weapons ; their swords, bucklers, lances, crossbows, arque-
busses and cannon. The Indians were astonished at the keenness of
the swords, and at the deadly power of the crossbows and arquebus-
ses ; but when the heavy lombards were discharged from the fortress,
wrapping it in wreaths of smoke, shaking the forests with their
thunder, and shivering the trees with the balls of 'stone, which in
those times were used in artillery; there was the deepest awe min-
gled with their admiration. Conceiving that these tremendous pow-
ers were all to be employe'd for their protection, they rejoiced while
they trembled; since no Carib would now dare to invade the trail'
quillity of their island, and carry them into captivity.*

When the festivities, of the day were over, Columbus embraced
the cacique and his principal chieftains, and took a final leave of
them. Guacanagari was greatly affected, and shed tears; for while
he had been awed by the dignified demeanour of the admiral, and
the idea of his superhuman nature, he had been completely won by
the benignity of his manners. Indeed, the parting scene was sor-
rowful on all sides. The arrival of the ships had been an event of
wonder and excitement to the islanders, who had as yet known
nothing but the good qualities of their guests, and had been enriched
by their celestial gifts; while the rude seamen had been flattered by
the blind deference paid them, and captivated by the kindness and
unlimited indulgence with which they had been treated.

The sorest parting was between the Spaniards who embarked, and
those who remained behind; for there is a strong sympathy arising
from a companionship in perils and adventures, which binds the
hearts of men together. The little garrison, however, evinced a
cheerful spirit and stout resolution. They looked forward with
bright anticipations to the day when the admiral should return from
Spain with large reinforcements, and they promised to give him a

* Primer viagc de Colon. Navarrete, T. 1, p. 121.

Chap. XI.l CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 151

good account of all things in the island. The caravel was detained
one day longer by the absence of some of the Indians whom they
were to take to Spain. At length the signal gun was fired; they
gave a parting cheer to the handful of comrades thus left in the
wilderness of an unknown world, who echoed their cheering as they
gazed wistfully after them from the beach, but who were destined
never to welcome their return.

LIFE AND VOYAGES

OF

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

BOOK V.

CHAPTER I.

COASTING TOWARDS THE EASTERN END OF HISPANIOLA MEET-
ING WITH PINZON AFFAIR WITH THE NATIVES AT THE GULF

OF SAMANA.

[1493.]

It was on tne 4th of January that Columbus set sail from La
Navidad on his return to Spain. The wind being light, it was
necessary to tow the caravel out of the harbour, and clear of the reefs
which environed it. They then stood eastward, towards a lofty
promontory, destitute of trees, but covered with grass, and shaped
like a tent, having at a distance the appearance of a towering island,
being connected with Hispaniola by a low neck of land. To this
bold promontory Columbus gave the name of Monte Christi, by
which it is still known. The country in the immediate neighbour-
hood was level, but further inland rose high ranges of mountains,
well wooded, with broad fruitful valleys between them, watered hy
abundant streams. The wind being contrary, they were detained
for two days in a large bay to the west of the promontor3\ On the
6th they again made sail with a land breeze, and weathering the
cape, advanced ten leagues, when the wind again turned to blow
freshly from the east. At this time a sailor, stationed at the mast-
head to look out for rocks, cried out that he beheld the Pinta at a
distance. The certainty of the fact gladdened the heart of the
admiral, and had an animating effect throughout the ship; for it
was a joyful event to the mariners once more to meet with their
comrades, and to have a companion barque in their voyage through
these lonely seas.

The Pinta came sweeping towards them, directly before the wind,

Chap. I.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 153

with flowing canvas. The admiral was desirous of having a con-
versation with Martin Alonzo Pinzon, and, seeing that all attempt
to proceed was fruitless from the obstinacy of the adverse wind, and
that there was no safe anchorage in the neighbourhood, he put back
to the bay a little west of Monte Christi, whither he was followed by
the Pinta.

When Martin Alonzo Pinzon came on board of the admiral's
vessel he was evidently agitated and confused. He pretended that
his desertion had been involuntary, and accounted for it by various
reasons which Columbus considered weak and inconsistent. He
said that on being separated from Columbus he had cruised about
for some time, touching at various small islands, until about six days
since when he had anchored in a river in the island of Hayti, about
fifteen leagues east of the harbour of Nativity. He pretended to
have been entirely ignorant that Columbus was in a neighbouring
part of the island, and declared that he was actually in search of him
when they had thus fortunately met off Monte Christi.

Columbus listened passively, though incredulously to his story;
and forbore to express the suspicions which had acquired additional
force in his mind. These were confirmed by subsequent informa-
tion derived from various sources, and it was clear that Pinzon had
wilfully deserted him for selfish and mercenary motives. It appeared
that at the time the squadron was in search of the supposed island
of Babeque, Pinzon had received extravagant accounts from one
of the Indians on board of his vessel, of the wealth of that, or some
other island or region, with offers to guide him to the place.
His avarice was suddenly awakened. The wind was blowing
almost from the quarter in which this land was said to be situated,
his vessel however was an excellent sailer and could ply easily to
windward, while he beheld the other ships gradually falling far
astern, and at length abandoning the attempt. Here then was an
opportunity of being the first to discover this golden region, of enjoy-
ing its fiist fruits, and, at one blow making a princely fortune. The
sudden temptation ofifered to his avarice, added to his previous
discontent, was too powerful for his sense of duty. Forgetting in a
moment what was due to the admiral as his commander, and what
was due to the great enterprise in which he was embarked, he
disregarded every signal, and keeping on to the eastward, with the
advantage of his superior sailing, he gradually separated himself
from the squadron.

He now made diligent search for this land of imaginary wealth,
and was entangled for some time among a cluster of small islands,
which it is supposed must have been the Caicos. After wasting

154 UFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V.

several days among them to no purpose he was at length guided by
the Indians to Hispaniola. Here he remained for three weeks, trad-
ing in various places with the natives in the river already mentioned.
He collected a considerable quantity of gold, one half of which he
retained as captain, the rest he divided among his men to secure
their fidelity and secrecy. While at anchor in the river he received
intelligence of the shipwreck of the admiral at the harbour of Na-
tivity. He delayed sailing to his assistance, however, until he had
drained the neighbourhood of gold, and amassed sufficient booty.

Columbus repressed the indignation which burned within him on
becoming informed of the preceding circumstances. Pinzon had a
powerful party in the armament ; most of the mariners were his
townsmen, several of them his relatives, and one of the command-
ers his brother; whereas Columbus was a stranger among them, the
what was worse, a foreigner. The latter had already experienced
the disadvantages under which he laboured from these circum-
stances, in several disputes which had occurred with Pinzon, and
he was unwilling to provoke any fresh altercations which might
disturb the remainder of the voyage. He had lost all confidence,
however, in the Pinzons : he found himself subject to be treated by
them with arrogance and contradiction, and he had no security
that Martin Alonzo might not again desert him on the least instiga-
tion of interest or caprice. He determined therefore, to release him*
self as soon as possible from all connexion with his confederates,
by hastening his arrival at Spain, though, under any other circum-
stances, he should have been encouraged, on being rejoined by the
Pinta, to continue his voyage along the coast, in which case he
had no doubt of being able to load his ships with treasure.*

The boats were accordingly dispatched to a large river which
empties itself into the bay, to take in a supply of wood and water
for the voyage. This river, called by the natives the Yagui, de-
scends from the mountains of the interior, and in its course to the
ocean receives the contributions of various minor streams. Colum-
bus observed among the sands at its mouth many particles of gold,t
and found others adhering to the hoops of the water casks, where-
fore he gave to this stream the name of Rio del Oro, or the Golden
River; it is at present called the Santiago. In this neighbourhood
were turtles of a great size. Columbus also mentions in his journal

* Hist, del Almirante, C. 34.

tLas Casas suggests that these may have been particles of marcasite, which
abounds in this river, and in the other streams, which fall from the mountains of
Cibao. Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C, 76.

Chap. I.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 155

that he saw three mermaids, which elevated themselves above the
surface of the sea ; and he observes that he had before seen such
on the coast of Africa. He adds that they were by no means the
beautiful beings they had been represented, although they possessed
some traces of the human countenance. It is supposed that these
must have been manate or sea-calves, seen indistinctly and at a dis-
tance; and that the imagination of Columbus, disposed to give a
wonderful character to every thing in this new world, had identified
these misshapen animals with the syrens of ancient story.

On the evening of the 9th January they again made sail, and on
the following day arrived at the river where Pinzon had been trad-
ing, to which Columbus gave the name of Rio de Gracia ; but it
took the appellation of its original discoverer, and long continued
to be known as the river of Martin Alonzo. Here he met with
proofs of the falsehood of part of Pinzon' s statement; the latter
had pretended, and had obliged his crew to declare, that he had
been but six days trading in the river, though it was proved that he
had been sixteen, and that in the course of the time he had received
tidings of the admiral's disaster, of which, on their meeting he had
professed entire ignorance. The natives complained, likewise, that
Pinzon had violently carried off four men and two girls. The ad-
miral finding this to be the fact, and that they were retained on
board of the Pinta to be carried to Spain and sold as slaves, ordered
that they should be immediately restored to their homes, well cloth-
ed, and with many presents, to atone for the wrong they had ex-
perienced, and to prevent its prejudicing the natives against the
Spaniards. This restitution was made with great unwillingness,
and many high words, on the part of Pinzon.

The wind being favourable, for in these regions the trade wind is
often alternated during autumn and winter, by northwesterly breezes,
they continued coasting the island, until thoy came to a high and
beautiful head-land, to which they gave the name of Cape del Ena-
morado, or the Lover's Cape, but which at present is known as
Cape Cabron. A little beyond this, they anchored in a vast bay,
or rather gulf, three leagues in breadth, and extending so far inland,
that Columbus at first supposed it might be an arm of the sea, se-
parating Hispaniola from some other land. On landing they found
the natives quite different from the gentle and pacific people they
had hitherto met with on this island. These were of a ferocious
aspect, and of a turbulent and warlike deportment. They were
hideously painted, and wore their hair long and tied behind, and
decorated with the feathers of parrots and other birds of gaudy plu-
mage They were armed with bows and arrows, war clubs, and

156 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V.

swords of a formidable kind. Their bows were of the length of
those used bj the English archers ; their arrows were of slender
reeds, pointed with hard wood, and sometimes tipped with bone or
with the tooth of a' fish. Their swords were of palm wood, as
hard and heavy as iron ; they^ were not sharp, but broad, nearly
of the thickness of two fingers, and capable with one blow of
cleaving through a helmet to the very brains.* Though thus pre-
pared for combat, the natives made no attempt to molest the Span-
iards ; on the contrary, they sold the latter two of their bows and
several of their arrows, and one of them was prevailed upon to go
on board of the admiral's ship.

When Columbus beheld the ferocious looks, and hardy, undaunt-
ed manner of this wild warrior, he was persuaded that he and his
companions must be of the nation of Caribs so much dreaded
throughout these seas, and that the gulf in which he was anchor-
ed must be a strait separating their island from Hispaniola. On
inquiring of the Indian, however, he still pointed to the east, as
the quarter in which were situated the Caribbean islands. He spoke
also of an island which he called Mantinino, which, Columbus fan-
cied him to say, was peopled merely by women, who received the
Caribs among them once in the course of the year, for the sake of
continuing the population of their island. All the male progeny
resulting from such visits were delivered to the fathers, the female
remained with the mothers. This Amazonian island is repeatedly
mentioned in the course of the voyages of Columbus, and is another
of his self-delusions, which are to be explained by the work of
Marco Polo. That traveller describes two islands near the coast of
Asia, one inhabited solely by women, the other by men, between
which a similar intercourse subsists;! and Columbus supposing him-
self in that vicinity, easily interpreted the signs of the Indians to
coincide with the descriptions of the Venetian.

Having regaled this warrior on board of the caravel, and made
him various presents, the admiral sent him on shore, in hopes,
through his mediation, of opening a trade for gold with his coun
trymen. As the boat approached the land, upwards of fifty savages,
armed with bows and arrows, war clubs and javelins, were seen
lurking among the trees. On a word from the Indian who was in
the boat, they laid by their arms, and came forth to meet the Span-
iards. The latter according to directions from the admiral, endea-
voured to purchase several of their weapons, to take as curiosities to
Spain. They parted with two of their bows; but suddenly conceiv

* Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 77. .

t Marco Polo, B. 3, C. 34. Eng. Edition of Marsden.

i^. I.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 157

ing some distrust, or thinking to overpower this handful of strangers,
they rushed to the place where they had left their weapons, snatched
them up, and returned with menacing looks, and provided with
cords, as if to bind the Spaniards. The latter immediately attacked
them, wounded two, and put the rest to flight, terrified at the flashing
lustre and keen edge of the European weapons. The Spaniards
would have pursued and put several to the sword, but they were re-
strained by the pilot who commanded the boat. This was the first
contest they had with the Indians, and the first time that native
blood had been shed by the white men in the new world. Co-
lumbus lamented to see all his exertions to maintain an amicable in-
tercourse vain; he consoled himself with the idea, however, that if
these were Caribs, or frontier Indians of warlike character, they
would be inspired with a dread of the force and the weapons of the
white men, and would thus be deterred from molesting the little gar-
rison of Fort Nativity. The fact was, that these were of the tribe
of the Ciguayans, a bold and hardy race of Indians, inhabiting a
mountainous district, extending five and twenty leagues along the
coast, and several leagues into the interior. They differed in lan-
guage, looks and manners from the other natives of tl^ island, and
had more of the rude, but independent and vigorous character which
belongs to mountaineers. Their frank and bold spirit was evinced
on the day after the skirmish, when, a multitude appearing on the
beach, the admiral sent a large party, well armed, on shore in the
boat. The natives immediately approached as freely and confi-,
dingly as if nothing had happened; neither did they betray, through-
out their subsequent intercourse, any signs of lurking fear or enmity.
The cacique who ruled over the neighbouring country was on the
shore. He sent to the boat a string of beads formed of small stones,
or rather of the har d part of shells, which the Spaniards understood
to be a token and assurance of amity; they were not yet aware of
the full meaning of this symbol, which was the wampum belt, the
pledge of peace held sacred among the Indians. The chieftain fol-
lowed shortly after, and entering the boat with only three attendants,
was conveyed on board of the caravel.

This frank and confiding conduct, so indicative of a brave and
generous nature, was properly appreciated by Columbus; he received
the cacique with cordial friendship, sat before him a collation such
fts the caravel afforded, particularly biscuits and honey, which ap-
pear to have been great dainties with the Indians, and, after showing
him the wonders of the vessel, and making him and his attendants
many presents, sent them to land highly gratified by their entertain-

158 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V

ment. The residence of the cacique was at such a distance that he
could not repeat his visit, but as a token of high regard and grati-
tude, he sent the admiral his coronet of gold. In speaking of these
incidents, the historians of Columbus have made no mention of the
name of this mountain chief; he was doubtless the same who, a few
years afterwards, appears in the history of the island under the name
of Mayonabex, cacique of the Ciguayans, and will be found ac-
quitting himself with valour, frankness and magnanimity, under the
most trying circumstances.

Columbus remained a day or two longer in the bay, during which
time the most friendly intercourse prevailed with the natives, who
brought cotton, and various fruits and vegetables, but still manifested
their warrior character, being always armed with bows and arrows.
From four young Indians who came on board of the caravel, Co-
lumbus received such interesting accounts of the islands said to lie to
the east, that he determined to touch there on his way to Spain, and
he prevailed on these young men to accompany him as guides.
Taking advantage of a favourable wind, therefore, he sailed before
daylight on the 16th January, from this bay, to which, in conse-
quence of the skirmish with the natives, he gave the name of Golfo
de las Fleches, or the Gulf of Arrows, but which is now known by
the name of the Gulf of Samand.

On leaving the bay, Columbus at first steered to the northeast, in
which direction the young Indians assured him he would find the
island of the Caribs, and that of Mantinino, the abode of the Ama-
zons; it being his desire to take several of the natives of each, to pre-
sent to the Spanish sovereigns. After sailing about sixteen leagues,
however, his Indian guides changed their opinion, and pointed to the
southeast. This would have brought him to Porto Rico, which, in
fact, was known among -the Indians as the island of Carib. The
admiral immediately shifted sail, and stood in this direction. He
had not proceeded two leagues, however, when a most favourable
breeze sprang up for the voyage to Spain. He observed a gloom
gathering on the countenances of the sailors as they diverged from
the homeward route. Reflecting upon the little hold he had upon
the feelings and affections of these men, the insubordinate spirit they
had evinced on former occasions in the voyage, the want of faith and
loyalty on the part of Pinzon, and also the leaky condition of his
ships, he was suddenly brought to a pause. As long as he pro-
tracted his return, the whole fate of his discovery was at the mercy
of a thousand contingencies, and an adverse accident might bury
himself, his crazy barks, and all the records of his voyage, for ever

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 159

in the ocean. Repressing, therefore, the strong incHnation to seek
further discoveries, and determined to place what he had already
made beyond the reach of accident, he once more shifted sail, to the
great joy of his crews, and resumed his course for Spain.*

CHAPTER II.

RETURN VOYAGE — VIOLENT STORMS ARRIVAL AT THE AZORES.

[1493.]

The trade winds, which had been so propitious to Columbus on his
outward voyage, wafting him with flowing sail to the new world,
were equally adverse to him on his return. The favourable
breeze soon died away, and for the remainder of January there was
a prevalence of light winds from the eastward, which prevented his
making any great progress. He was frequently detained also by
the bad sailing of the Pinta ; her foremast was defective, so that it
could carry but little sail, an evil which Pinzon had neglected to
remedy while in port, in his eager search after gold. The wea-
ther continued mild and pleasant, and the sea so calm that the
Indians, whom they were taking to Spain, would frequently plunge
into the water, and swim about the ships. They saw many tunny
fish, one of which they killed, as likewise a large shark ; these
gave them a temporary supply of provisions, of which they soon
began to stand in need, their sea stock being reduced to bread and
wine and agi-peppers, which they had learnt from the Indians to use
as an important article for food.

In the early part of February, having run to about the thirty-eighth
degree of north latitude, and got out of the tract of ocean swept by
the trade winds, they began to have more favourable breezes, and
were enabled to steer direct for Spain. In consequence of the fre-
quent change of course, the pilots became extremely perplexed in
their reckonings, differing widely among themselves, and still more

* Journal of Columb. Navarrete, T. 1. Las Casas, Hist. lad. L. 1, C. 77.
Uist. del Almirante, Cax>. 34, 35.

160 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF ^ [Book V.

widely from the truth. Columbus, beside keeping a reckoning with
great care, was a vigilant observer of all those phenomena by which
experienced seamen ascertain latitudes and longitudes, in what, to
an unpractised eye, appears to be a blank expanse of ocean. In all
his voyages he studied the simple indications furnished by the sea^
the air, and the sky, with the watchful and anxious eye of a com
mander ; the fate of himself and his ships, in the unknown regions
which he traversed, often depended upon these observations ; and the
sagacity at which he arrived, in deciphering the signs of the ele-
ments was looked upon by the common seamen as something almost
supernatural. In the present instance, on his return homewards, he
had noticed where the great bands of floating weeds commenced.
and where they finished; and in emerging from among them,
concluded himself to be in about the same degree of longitude as
when he encountered them on his outward voyage : that is to say,
about two hundred and sixty leagues west of Ferro. On the 10th
February, Vincente Yanez Pinzon, and the pilots Ruiz and B-arto-
lomeo Roldan, who were on board the admiral's ship, examined the
charts and compared their reckonings to determine their situa-
tion, but could not come to any agreement. They all supposed
themselves at least one hundred and fifty leagues nearer Spain than
what Columbus believed to be the true reckoning; and in the
latitude of Madeira, whereas he knew them to be nearly in a direc-
tion for the Azores. He suffered them, however, to remain in their
error, and even added to their perplexities, that they might retain
but a confused idea of the voyage, and he alone possess a clear
knowledge of the route to the newly discovered countries.*

On the 12th of February, as they were flattering themselves with
soon coming in sight of land, the wind came on to blow violently,
and the sea to be greatly agitated ; they still kept their course to
the east, but with great labour and peril from the turbulence of the
elements. On the following day, after sunset, the wind and sea
increased ; there were three flashes of lightning in the north-north-
east ; considered by Columbus as signals of an approaching tempest^
either from that or the opposite quarter. It soon burst upon them with
frightful violence : their small and crazy vessels, open and without
decks, were little fitted for the wild storms of the Atlantic; all night
they were obliged to remain under bare poles, driven along by the
fury of the winds. As the morning dawned of the 14th, there was
a transient pause and they made a little sail ; but the wind arose
again, with redoubled vehemence, from the south, raging thr^iugh-

• Las Casas^ Hi&t. Ind. L. 1, Cap. 7ft.

Chap. IL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 161

out the day, and increasing in fury in the night, while the vessels
laboured terribly in a cross sea, the broken waves of which threat-
ened at each moment to overwhelm them, or dash them to pieces.
For three hours they lay with just sail enough to keep them above
the waves ; but the tempest still augmenting, they were obliged to
give up all attempt to withstand it, and to scud before the wind.
The Pinta was soon lost sight of in the darkness of the night. The
admiral kept as much as possible to the northeast, to approach to
the coast of Spain, and made signal lights at the mast head for the
Pinta to do the same, and to keep in company. The latter, however,
from the weakness of her foremast, could not hold the wind, and
was obliged to scud before it, directly north. For some time she
replied to the signals of the admiral, but her lights gleamed more
and more distant, until they ceased entirely, and nothing more was
seen of her.

Columbus continued to scud all the night, full of forebodings of
the fate of his own vessel, and of fears for the safety of that of Pin-
zon. As the day dawned the sea presented a frightful waste of
wild broken waves, lashed into fury by the gale ; he looked around
anxiously for the Pinta, but she was nowhere to be seen. He now
made a little sail to keep his vessel ahead of the sea, lest its huge
waves should break over her. As the sun rose the wind and the
waves rose with it, and throughout a dreary day the helpless bark
was driven along by the fury of the tempest.

Seeing all human skill baffled and confounded, Columbas now
endeavoured to propitiate the heavens, by solemn vows and acts of
penance. By his orders a number of beans, equal to the number
of persons on board, were put into a cap, on one of which was cut
the sign of the cross. Each of the crew made a vow that, should
he draw forth the marked bean, he would make a pilgrimage to
the shrine of Santa Maria de Guadalupe, bearing a wax taper of
five pounds weight. The admiral was the first to put in his hand,
and the lot fell upon him. From that moment he considered himself
a pilgrim bound to perform the vow, Another lot was cast in the
same way, for a pilgrimage to the chapel of our Lady of Loretto,
which fell upon a seaman, named Pedro de Villa, and the admiral
engaged to bear the expenses of his journey. A third lot was also
cast for a pilgrimage to Santa Clara de Moguer, to perform a solemn
mass, and to watch all night in the chapel, and this likewise fell
upon Columbus.

The tempest still raging with unabated riolence, the admiral and
all the mariners made a solemn vow, that if they were spared to reach
the land, wherever they first went on shore they would go in pro*

Vol. I. U 0 2

162 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF tBooK Y.

cession^ barefooted and in their shirts^ to offer up prayers and thanks-
giving in some church of the invocation of the holy Virgin. Besides
these general acts of propitiation, each one made his private vow,
binding himself to some pilgrimage, or vigil, or other rite of peni-
tence and thanksgiving at his favourite shrine. Such has alwa3^s
been the custom with mariners of the Catholic countries, in times
of tempest and peril; but it was especially the case in that supersti-
tious age. The heavens, however, seemed deaf to these pious vows;
the storm grew still more wild and frightful, and each man gave
himself up for lost. The danger of the ship was augmented by the
want of ballast, the consumption of the water and provisions bav-
ins: lightened her so much, that she rolled and tossed about at the
mercy of the waves. To remedy this, and to render her more steady,
the admiral ordered that all the empty casks should be filled with
sea-water, which in some measure gave relief.

During this long and awful conflict of the elements, the mind
of Columbus was a prey to the most distressing anxiety. He feared
the Pinta had foundered in the storm. In such case the whole his
tory of his discovery, the secret of the new world, depended upon
his own feeble bark; and one surge of the ocean might bury it for
ever in oblivion. The tumult of his thoughts may be judged from
his own letter to the sovereigns, "I could have supported this evil
fortune with less grief," said he, "had my person alone been in
jeopardy, since I am a debtor for my life to the supreme Creator,
and have at other times been within a step of death. But it was
a cause of infinite sorrow and trouble to think, that after having
been illuminated from on high with faith and certainty to undertake
this enterprise; after having victoriously achieved it, and when oh
the point of convincing my opponents, and securing to your high-
nesses great glory and vast increase of dominion, it should please
the divine Majesty to defeat all by my death. It would have been
more supportable, also, had I not heen accompanied by others, who
had been drawn on by my persuasions, and who in their distress
cursed not only the hour of their coming, but the fear inspired by my
words, which prevented their turning back, as they had at various
times determined. Above all^ my grief was doubled when I thought
of my two sons, whom I had left at school in Cordova, destitute, in
a strange land, without any testimony of the services rendered by
their father, which if known, might have inclined your highnesses
to befriend them. And although,4on the one hand, I was comforted
by a faith that the Deity would not permit a work of such great
exaltation to his church, wrought through so many troubles and
contradictions, to remain imperfect ; yet, on the other hand, I re-

Chap. H.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 163

fleeted on my sins, for which he might intend as a punishment, that
I should be deprived of the glory which would redound to me in this
world."*

In the midst of these gloomy apprehensions an expedient sug-
gested itself to Columbus, by which, though he and his ship should
perish, the glory of his achievement might survive to his name, and
its advantages be secured to his sovereigns. He wrote on parch-
ment a brief account of his voyage and discovery, and of his having
taken possession of the newly found lands in the name of their
Catholic majesties. This he sealed and directed to the king and
queen, and superscribed also a promise of a thousand ducats to who-
soever should deliver the pacquet unopened. He then wrapped it
in a waxed cloth, which he placed in the centre of a cake of wax,
and enclosing the whole in a large barrel, threw it into the sea, giv-
ing his crew to suppose that he was performing some religious vow.
Lest this memorial should never reach the land, he enclosed a copy
in a similar manner, and placed it upon the poop, so that, should the
caravel be swallowed up by the waves, the barrel might float off and
survive.

These precautions in some measure mitigated his anxiety, and he
was still more relieved when, after heavy showers, there appeared at
sunset a streak of clear sky in the west, giving hopes that the wind
was about to shift to that quarter. These hopes were confirmed : a
favourable breeze succeeded, but the sea still ran so high and tumul-
tuously, that but little sail could be carried during the night.

On the morning of the 15th at daybreak, the cry of land was
given by Rui Garcia, a mariner stationed in the main top. The trans-
ports of the crew at once more gaining sight of the Old World, were
almost equal to what they had experienced on first beholding the
New. The land was seen east-northeast, directly over the prow
of the caravel; and the usual diversity of opinion concerning it arose
among the pilots. One thought that it must be the island of Ma-
deira; another the rock of Cintra, near Lisbon; the most part
deceived by their ardent wishes, placed it near to Spain. Colum-
Jdus, however, judging from his private reckonings and observations,
concluded it to be one of the Azores. A nearer approach proved it
to be an island: it was but five leagues distant, and the voyagers
were congratulating themselves upon the assurance of speedily being
in port, when suddenly the wind veered again to the east-northeast,
blowing directly from the land, while a heavy sea kept • oiling from
the west,

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 30.

164 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V.

For two days they remained hovering in sight of the island, vainly
striving to reach it, or to arrive at another island of which they
caught glimpses occasionally through the mist and rack of the tem-
pest. On the evening of the 17th they approached so near the first
island they had seen, as to cast anchor, but they immediately parted
their cable and had to put to sea again, where they remained beating
about until the following morning, when they anchored under shel-
ter of its northern side. For several days past Columbus had been
in such a state of agitation and anxiety, that he had scarcely taken
food or repose. Although suffering greatly from a gouty affection
to which he was subject, yet he had maintained his watchful post on
deck, exposed to wintrj'- cold, to the pelting of the storm, and the
drenching surges of the sea. It was not until the night of the 17th
that he was enabled to get a little sleep, more from the exhaustion
of nature than from any tranquillity of mind. Such were the diffi-
culties and perils which attended his return to Europe; had one tenth
part of them beset his outward voyage, his timid and factious crew
would have risen in arms against the enterprise, and he never would
have discovered the New World.

CHAPTER III.

On sending the boat to land, Columbus ascertained that the island
where he had thus arrived was St. Mary's, the most southern of
the Azores, and a possession of the crown of Portugal. The inhabit-
ants, when they beheld the light caravel riding at anchor, were as-
tonished that it had been able to live through the gale, which had
raged for fifteen days with unexampled fury ; but when they heard
that this tempest-tost vessel brought tidings of a strange country
beyond the ocean, they were filled with wonder and curiosity. To
the inquiries of the boat's crew about a place where the caravel
might anchor securely, they pointed out a harbour in the vicinity ;
but when the boat was about to depart, they prevailed on three of the
mariners to remain on shore and gratify them with further particu-
lars of this unparalleled voyage.

In the evening three men of the island hailed the caravel, and a
boat being sent for them they brought on board fowls, bread and re-
freshments of various kinds, from Juan de Castanedaj governor of the

Chap. Ill,] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 165

island, who claimed an acquaintance with Columbus, and sent him
many compliments and congratulations. He apologized for not
coming in person, owing to the lateness of the hour, and the distance
of his residence, but promised to visit him the next morning, and to
bring further refreshments, and the three men whom he still kept
with him, to satisfy his extreme curiosity respecting the voyage.
As there were no houses on the neighbouring shore, the messengers
remained on board all night.

On the following morning Coliuubus reminded his people of the
vow made during their recent peril, to perform a pious procession at
the first place where they should land. On the neighbouring shore,
fit no great distance from the sea, was a small hermitage or chapel,
dedicated to the virgin, which was favourable for the purpose, and
he made immediate arrangements for the performance of the rite.
The three messengers, on returning to the village, sent a priest to
perform mass, and one half of the crew landing, walked in proces-
sion, barefooted and in their shirts, to the chapel ; while the admiral
awaited their return to perform the same ceremony with the re-
mainder of his men.

An ungenerous reception, however, awaited the poor tempest-tost
mariners, on their first return to the abode of civilized man, far dif-
ferent from the sympathy and hospitality they had experienced
among the savages of the New World. Scarcely had they began
their prayers and thanksgivings, when the whole rabble of the vil-
lage, horse and foot, headed by the governor, surrounded the hermit-
age, and took them all prisoners.

As an intervening point of land hid the hermitage from the view
of the caravel, the admiral remained in ignorance of this transaction.
When eleven o'clock arrived without the return of the pilgrims, he
began to fear that they were detained by the Portuguese, or that the
boat had been shattered upon the surf-beaten rocks which bordered
the island. Weighing anchor, therefore, he stood in a direction to
command a view of the chapel and the adjacent shore. From hence
he beheld a number of armed horsemen, who dismounting, entered
the boat and made for the caravel. The admiral's ancient suspicions
of Portuguese hostility towards himself and his enterprises were
immediately revived, and he ordered his men to arm themselves, but
to keep out of sight, ready either to defend the vessel, or surprise the
boat. The latter, however, approached in a pacific manner ; the
governor of the island was on board, and coming within hail, de-
manded assurance of personal safety in case he entered the caravel.
This the admiral readily gave, but the Portuguese still distrustful,
vnd conscious of their own sinister designs, continued to mamtain a

166 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V

wary distance. The indignation of Columbus now broke forth; he
reproached the governor with his perfidy, and with the wrong he
did, not merely to the Spanish monarchs, but to his own sovereign,
by such a dishonourable outrage. He informed him of his own rank
and dignity, displayed his letters patent, sealed with the royal seal of
Castile, and threatened him with the vengeance of his government.
The reply of Castaneda was in an arrogant vein of contempt for the
letters of the monarchs, and of defiance of Columbus ; and he con-
cluded by declaring that all he had done was in conformity to the
commands of the king his sovereign.

After an unprofitable altercation, the boat returned to shore, leaving
Columbus much perplexed by this unexpected hostility, and fearful
that a war might have broken out between Spain and Portugal
during his absence. The next day the weather became so tem-
pestuous that they were driven from their anchorage and obliged to
stand to sea, toward the island of St. Michael. For two days the
ship continued beating about in great peril, half of her crew being
detained on shore, and the greater part of those on board being lands-
men and Indians, almost equally useless in difficult navigation.
Fortunately, although the waves ran high, there were none of those
cross seas which recently prevailed, otherwise, being so feebly
manned, the caravel could scarcely have lived through the storm.

On the evening of the 22d, the weather having moderated, Colum ■■
bus returned once more to his anchorage at St. Mar/s. Shortly
after his arrival a boat came oflf, bringing two priests and a notary.
After a cautious parley, and an assurance of safety, they came on
board of the caravel, and requested a sight of the papers of Columbus
on the part of Castaneda, assuring hiiti that it was the disposition
of the governor to render him every service in his power, provided he
really sailed in the service of the Spanish sovereigns. Columbus saw
that this was a mere manoeuvre of Castaneda to cover a retreat from
the hostile position he had assumed; h^ restrained his indignation,
however, expressing his thanks for the friendly disposition of the
governor, and showing his letters of cominission, easily satisfied the
priests and the notary. On the following morning the boat and
mariners were liberated. The latter during their detention had
collected information from the inhabitants which elucidated the con-
duct of Castaneda. The king of Portugal, jealous lest the expe-
dition of Columbus might interfere with his own discoveries, had
sent orders to his commanders of islands and distant ports, to seize
and detain him wherever he should be met with.* In compliance

Hist, del Almirante, C. 39. Las Casaa, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 72,

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS- 167

with these oraers Castaneda had in the first instance hoped to sur-
prise Columbus in the chapel, and, failing in that attempt, had
intended to get him in his power by stratagem, but was deterred
from finding him on his guard. Such was the first reception of the.
admiral on his return to the Old World; an earnest of the crosses
and troubles with which he was to be requited throughout life, for
one of the greatest benefits that ever man had conferred upon his
fellow beings.

k:t

CHAPTER IV.

ARRIVAL AT PORTUGAL VISIT TO THE COURT.

[1493.]

Columbus remained two days longer at the island of St. Mary's,
endeavouring to take in wood and ballast; but was prevented by the
heavy surf which broke upon the shore. The wind veering to the
south, and being dangerous for vessels at anchor off the island, but
favourable for the voyage to Spain, he set sail on the 24th of February,
and had pleasant weather until the 27th, when, being within one
hundred and twenty-five leagues of Cape St. Vincent, he again
entountered contrary gales, and a boisterous and laborious sea. The
fortitude of Columbus was scarcely proof against these perils and
delays, which appeared to increase the nearer he approached his
home; and he could not help uttering a complaint at thus being
repulsed, as it were, "from the very door of the house." He con-
trasted the rude storms which raged about the coasts of the old world,
with the genial airs, the tranquil seas, and balmy weather, which he
supposed perpetually to prevail about the favoured countries he had
discovered. "Well," says he, "may the sacred theologians and
sage philosophers declare, that the terrestrial paradise is in the
ultimate end of the east, for it is the most temperate of regions."

After experiencing several days of stormy and adverse weather,
about midnight of Saturday, the 2d March, the caravel was suddenly
struck by a squall of wind, which rent all her sails ; and continuing
to blow with resistless violence, she was obliged again to scud under
bare poles, threatened each moment with destruction. In this hour
of darkness and peril, the crew again called upon the aid of heaven.

9

168 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book V

A lot was cast for the performance of a barefooted pilgrimage to the
shrine of Santa Maria de la Cueva, in Huelva, and, as usual, the lot
fell upon Columbus. There was something singular in the recur-
rence of this circumstance. Las Casas devoutly considers it an
intimation from the Deity to the admiral, that these storms were all
on his account, to humble his pride, and prevent his arrogating to
himself the glory of a discovery, which was the work of God, and
for which he had merely been chosen as an instrument.*

Various signs appeared of their being in the vicinity of land, which
they supposed must be the coast of Portugal; the tempest however
increased to such a degree, that they doubted whether any of them
would survive to reach a port. The whole crew made a vow, in
case their lives were spared, to fast upon bread and water the fol-
lowing Saturda3^ The turbulence of the elements was still greater
in the course of the following night. The sea was broken, wild and
mountainous; at one moment the light caravel was tost high in the
air, and the next moment seemed sinking in a yawning abyss. The
rain at times fell in torrents, and the lightning flashed and the thun-
der pealed from various parts of the heavens.

In the first watch of this fearful night, the seamen gave the
usually welcome cry of land ; but it now only increased the general
alarm. They knew not where they were, nor where to look for a
harbour; they dreaded being driven on shore, or dashed upon the
rocks; and thus the very land they had so earnestly desired, was
rendered a terror to them. Taking in sail, therefore, they kept to
sea as much as possible, and waited anxiously for the morning light.

At daybreak on the 4th of March, they found themselves off the
rock of Cintra, at the mouth of the Tagus. Though entertaining a
strong distrust of the good will of Portugal, the prevailing tempest
left Columbus no alternative but to run in for shelter, and he accord-
ingly anchored about three o'clock, opposite to Rastello, to the great
joy of the crew, who returned thanks to God for their escape from so
many perils.

The inhabitants came off from various parts of the shore, congratu-
lating them upon what they considered a miraculous preservation.
They had been watching the vessel the whole morning, with great
anxiety, and putting up prayers for her safety. The oldest mariners
of the place assured Columbus that they had never known so tem-
pestuous a winter; many vessels had remained for months in port,
weatherbound, and there had been numerous shipwrecks during the
season.

Las Casas, Hist. Ind. Lib. 1, Cap. 73.

Chap. IV,] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 169

Immediately on his arrival, Columbus dispatched a courier to the
king and queen of Spain, with the great tidings of his discovery.
He wrote also to the king of Portugal, who was then at Valparaiso,
requesting permission to go with his vessel to Lisbon ; for a report had
got abroad that his caravel was laden with gold, and he felt himself
insecure in the mouth of the Tagus, in the neighbourhood of a place
like Rastello, scantily peopled by needy and adventurous inhabitants.
To prevent any misunderstanding as to the nature of his voyage, he
assured the king that he had not been on the coast of Guinea, nor to
any other of the Portuguese colonies, but had come from Cipango
and the extremity of India, which he had discovered by sailing to
the west.

On the following day, Don Alonzo de Acuna, the captain of a
large Portuguese man of war stationed at Rastello, summoned Co-
lumbus on board his ship, to give an account of himself and his
vessel. The latter immediately asserted his rights and dignities, as
admiral of their Castilian majesties, and refused to leave his vessel,
or to send any one in his place. No sooner, however, did the com-
mander learn his rank, and the extraordinary nature of his voyage,
than he came to the caravel with great sound of drums, fifes, and
trumpets, showing Columbus the courtesies of a brave and generous
spirit, and making the fullest offer of his services.

When the tidings reached Lisbon of this wonderful bark, which
lay anchored in the Tagus, freighted with the people and the pro-
ductions of a newly discovered world, the effect may be more easily
conceived than described. Lisbon for nearly a century had derived
its chief glory from its maritime discoveries, but here was an achieve-
ment that eclipsed them all. Curiosity could scarcely have been
more excited had the vessel come freighted with the wonders of
another planet. For several days the Tagus presented a gay and
moving picture, covered with barges and boats of every kind, swarm-
ing round the caravel. From morning till night the vessel was
thronged with visiters, among whom were cavaliers of high distinc-
tion, and various officers of the crown. All hung with rapt atten-
tion upon the accounts given by Columbus and his crew of the events
of their voyage, and of the new world they had discovered; and
gazed with insatiable curiosity upon the specimens of unknown
plants and animals; but above all upon the Indians, so different from
any race of men hitherto known. Some were filled with generous
enthusiasm at the idea of a discovery so sublime, and so beneficial to
mankind; the avarice of others was inflamed by the descriptions ot
wild unappropriated regions, teeming with gold, with pearls and
spices; while others repined at the incredulity of the king and his

P

170 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V,

counsellors, by which so immense an acquisition had been for ever
lost to Portugal.

On the eighth of March, a cavalier, called Don Martin de Norona,
came with a letter from king John, congratulating Columbus on his
arrival, and inviting him to court, which was then held at Valpa-
raiso, about nine leagues from Lisbon. The king, with his usual
munificence, issued orders at the same time, that every thing which
the admiral required, for himself, his crew, or his vessel, should be
furnished promptly and abundantly, without cost.

Columbus would gladly have declined the royal invitation, feeling
distrust of the good faith of the king; but the tempestuous weather
placed him in his power, and he thought it prudent to avoid all ap-
pearance of suspicion. He set forth, therefore, that very evening for
Valparaiso, accompanied by his pilot. The first night he slept at
Sacamben, where preparations had been made for his honourable
entertainment. The weather being rainy he did not reach Valpa-
raiso until the following night. On approaching the royal residence,
the principal cavaliers of the king's household came forth to meet
him, and attended him with great ceremony to the palace. His re-
ception by the monarch was worthy of an enlightened prince. He
ordered him to seat himself in his presence, an honour only granted
to persons of royal dignity; and after many congratulations on the
glorious result of his enterprise, assured him that every thing in his
kingdom that could be of service to his sovereigns or himself, was at
his command.

A long conversation ensued, in which Columbus gave an account
of his voyage, and of the countries he had discovered. The king
listened with much seeming pleasure, but with secret grief and
mortification ; the idea was incessantly preying upon his mind that
this splendid enterprise had once been oflfered to himself, had in a
manner been begging for patronage at his court, and had been re-
jected. A casual observation showed what was passing in his
thoughts. He expressed a doubt whether the discovery did not
really appertain to the crown of Portugal, according to the capitu-
lations of the treaty of 1479, with the Castilian sovereigns. Co-
lumbus replied that he had never seen those capitulations, nor
knew any thing of their nature; his orders had been not to go to
La Mina, or the coast of Gumea, which orders he had carefully
observed. The king made a gracious reply, expressing himself
satisfied that he had acted correctly, and persuaded that these mat-
ters would be readily adjusted between the two powers, without the
need of umpires. On dismissing Columbus for the night, he gave
him in charge, as guest, to the prior of Crato, the principal per-

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 171

sonage present, by whom he was honourably and hospitably enter-
tained.

On the following day, the king had further conversation with the
admiral, in which he made minute inquiries, as to the soil, produc-
tions, and people of the newly discovered countries, and the route
he had taken in his voyage; to all which Columbus gave the fullest
replies ; endeavouring to convince the royal mind, in the clearest
manner, that these were regions heretofore undiscovered and unap-
propriated by any Christian power. Still the king was uneasy, lest
this vast and undefined discovery should in some way interfere with
his own newly acquired territories. He doubted whether Colum-
bus had not found a short way to those very countries which were
the object of his own expeditions, and which were comprehended
in the papal bull, granting to the crown of Portugal all the lands
which it should discover from Cape Non to the Indias.

On suggesting these doubts to his counsellors, they eagerly con-
firmed them, ^ome of these were the very persons who had once
derided this enterprise, and scoffed at Columbus as a dreamer. To
them, its success was a source of confusion; every demonstration
of its importance was felt as a reproach, and the return of Colum-
bus, covered with glory, was a deep humiliation. Incapable of
conceiving the high and generous thoughts which elevated him at
that moment above all mean considerations, they attributed to all
his actions the most petty and ignoble motives. His rational ex-
ultation was construed into an insulting triumph ; and they accus-
ed him of assuming a boastful and vainglorious tone, when talking
with the king of his discovery ; as if he would revenge himself
upon the monarch for having rejected his propositions.* It was
with the greatest eagerness, therefore, that they sought to foster
those doubts, which had sprung up in the royal mind. Some, who
had seen the natives brought in the caravel, declared that their co-
lour, hair, and manners, agreed with the descriptions of the people
of that part of India which lay within the route of the Portuguese^
discoveries, and which had been included in the papal bull. Others
observed that there was but little distance between the Tercera
islands, and those which Columbus had discovered, and that the

* Vascbncelos, Vida de don Juan, 11, Lib. 6.

The Portuguese historians in general, charge Columbus with having conduct-
himself loftily, and talked in vaunting terms of his discoveries, in his conversa-
tions with the king. It is evident their information must have been derived from
prejudiced courtiers. Faria y Souza, in his Europa Portuguesa. (Parte III. C. 4.)
goes so far as to say that Columbus entered into the port of Rastello merely to
make Portugal sensible, by the sight of the trophies of his discovery, how much
•he had lost by not accepting his propositions.

172 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V.

latter, therefore, clearly appertained to Portugal. Seemg- the kmg
deeply perturbed in spirit, some even went so far as to propose, as a
means of impeding the prosecution of these enterprises, that Co-
lumbus should be assassinated: declaring that he deserved death for
attempting to deceive and embroil the two nations by his pretended
discoveries. It was suggested that his assassination might easily
be accomplished without incurring any odium : advantage might
be taken of his lofty deportment to pique his pride, provoke him
into an altercation, and then dispatch him, as if in casual and ho-
nourable encounter.

It is difficult to believe that such wicked and dastardly counsel
could have been preferred to a monarch so uprfght as John II; but
the fact is asserted by various historians, Portuguese as well as
Spanish;* and it accords with the perfidious advice formerly given
to the monarch in respect to Columbus. There is a spurious loyalty
about courts, which is often prone to prove its zeal by its baseness
and it is the weakness of kings to tolerate the grossest faults thai
appear to arise from personal devotion.

Happily, the king had too much magnanimity to adopt the ini^
quitous measure proposed. He did justice to the great merit of
Columbus, and honoured him as a distinguished benefactor to man-
kind ; and he felt it his duty as a generous prince, to protect al)
strangers, driven by adverse fortune to his ports. Others of his
counsel suggested a more bold and martial line of policy. They
advised that Columbus should be permitted to return to Spain ; but
that before he could fit out a second expedition, a powerful arma-
ment should be dispatched, under the guidance of two Portuguese
mariners, who had sailed with the admiral, to take possession of
the newly discovered countries; possession being after all the best
title, and an appeal to arms the clearest mode of settling so doubt-
ful a question.

This counsel, in which there was a mixture of courage and craft,
was more relished by the king, and he resolved privately but
promptly, to put it in execution, fixing upon Dom. Francisco de
Almeida, one of the most distinguished captains of the age, to
command the expedition.!

In the meantime, Columbus, after being treated with distinguish-
ed attention, was escorted back to his ship by Don Martin de No-
rona and a numerous train of cavaliers of the court, a mule being
provided for himself, and another for his pilot, to whom the king

• Vasconcelos, Vida del Rei Don Juan II. L. 6. Garcia de Reseade,, Vida dt
Dom Joam II. Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 74. MS.
t Vasconcelos, L. 6.

2/
/

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS- 173

made a present of twenty Espadinos or ducats of gold.* On his
waj Columbus stopped at the monastery of St. Antonio, at Villa
Franca, to visit the queen, who had expressed an earnest wish to
see him. He found her attended by a few of her favourite ladies,
and experienced the most flattering reception. Her majesty made
him relate the principal events of his voyage, and describe the coun-
tries he had found, while she and her ladies hung with eager curi-
osity upon the narrative of this extraordinary and enterprising man
whose achievement was the theme of every tongue. That night Z- 2.
he slept at Llandra, and being on the point of departing in the
morning, a servant of the king arrived, offering on the part of his
majesty, to attend him to the frontier, if he preferred to return to
Spain by land, and to provide horses, lodgings, and every thing he
might stand in need of, at the royal expense. The weather, how-
ever, having moderated, he preferred returning in his caravel. Put-
ting to sea once more, therefore, on the 13th March, he arrived
safely at the bar of Saltes on sunrise of the 15th, and at mid-day
entered the harbour of Palos, from whence he had sailed on the [
third of August in the preceding year; having taken not quite seyca.. «
months and a hal^ to accomplish this most momentous of all mari- \
time enterprises.f ' / j

r

CHAPTER V.

RECEPTION OF COLUMBUS AT PALOS.

[1493.]

The triumphant return of Columbus was a prodigious event in the
history of the little port of Palos; where every body was more or
less interested in the fate of his expedition. The most important and
wealthy sea-captains of the place had engaged in it, and scarcely a
family but had some relative or friend among the navigators. The

• 28 Dollars in gold of the present day, and equivalent to 74 dollars, consideruvo;
the depreciation of the precious metals.

t Works generally consulted on this chapter— Las Casas, Hist. fnd. L. 1, C.
74. HiNt. del Almirante, C 39 40 41. Jourjial of Columb. Navarrete, T. I.

P8

174 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book V.

departure of the ships upon what appeared a chimerical and despe-
rate cruise, had spread gloom and dismay over the place; and tho
storms which had raged throughout the winter had heightened the
public despondency. Many lamented their friends as lost, while the
imagination lent mysterious horrors to their fate; picturing them as
driven about over wild and desert wastes of water 'without a shore;
or as perishing amidst rocks, and quicksands, and whirlpools; or a
prey to those monsters of the deep, with which credulity, in those
days, peopled every distant and unfrequented sea.* There was some-
thing more awful in such a mysterious fate, tlian in death itself
imder any defined and ordinary form.

When the news arrived, therefore, that one of the adventurous
ships was standing up the river, the inhabitants were thrown into
great agitation; but when they heard that she returned in triumph
from the discovery of a world, and beheld her furling her sails in
their harbour, the whole community broke forth into transports of joy.
The bells were rung, the shops shut, all business was suspended; for
a time there was nothing but the hurry and tumult of sudden exulta-
tion and breathless curiosity. Some were anxious to know the fate
of a relative, others of a friend; and all to learn particulars of so
wonderful a voyage. When Columbus landed, the multitude throng-
ed to see and welcome him, and a grand procession was formed to
the principal church, to return thanks to God for so signal a dis-
covery, made by the people of that place; the unthinking populace
forgetting, in their exultation, the thousand difficulties which they
had thrown in the way of the enterprise. Wherever Columbus
passed, the streets resounded with shouts and acclamations; he
received such honours as are paid to sovereigns, but to him they
were rendered with tenfold warmth and sincerity. What a contrast
was this to his departure a few months before, followed by murmurs
and execrations; or rather, what a contrast to his first arrival at Palos,
a poor pedestrian, craving bread and water for his child at the gate
of a convent!

Understanding that the court was at Barcelona, Columbus felt
disposed to proceed thither immediately in his caravel; reflecting,
however, on the dangers and disasters he had already experienced
on the seas, he resolved to proceed by land. He dispatched a letter

* In the maps and charts of those times, and even in those of a much later date,
the variety of formidable and hideous monsters depicted in all remote parts of the
ocean, evince the terrors and dangers with which the imagination clothed it. The
same may also be said of distant and unknown lands. The remote parts of Asia
and Africa have monsters depicted in them which it would be difficult to trace to
any originals in natural history.

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 175

to the kin^ and queen, informing them of his arrival, and soon after
departed for Seville to avirait their orders ; taking with him six of the
natives whom he had brought from the new world. One had died
at sea, and three were left ill at Palos.

It is a singular coincidence, which appears to be well authenti-
cated, that on the very evening of the amval of Columbus at Palos,
and while, as it were, the peals of triumph v/ere still ringing from
its towers, the Pinta, commanded by Martin Alonzo Pinzon, like-
wise entered the river. After her separation from the admiral in
the storm she had been driven before the gale into the bay of Bis-
cay, and had made the port of Bayonne. Doubting whether Colum-
bus had survived the tempest, and, at all events, anxious to an-
ticipate him, and, to secure the favourable prepossessions of the
court and the public, Pinzon had immediately written to the
sovereigns, giving information of the discovery he had made, and
had requested permission to come to court, and communicate the
particulars in person. As soon as the weather permitted, he had
again set sail, anticipating a triumphant reception in his native
port of Palos. When on entering the harbour, he beheld the vessel
of the admiral riding at anchor, and learnt the enthusiasm with
which he had been received, and the rejoicings with which his return
had been celebrated, the heart of Pinzon died within him. He
called to mind his frequent arrogance and insubordination, and his
wilful desertion off the coast of Cuba, by which he had impeded the
prosecution of the voyage. It is said that he feared to meet Colum-
bus in this hour of his triumph, lest he might put him under arrest;
but it is more probable that he was ashamed to appear before the
public in the midst of its rejoicings, as a recreant to the cause which
excited such universal admiration. Getting into his boat, therefore,
he landed privately, and kept himself out of sight until he heard of
the admiral's departure. He then returned to his home, broken in
health and deeply dejected. Palos had been his little world, in
which he had moved with unrivalled importance; but now he found
himself fallen in public opinion, and fancied the finger of scorn
continually pointed at him. All the honours lavished on Columbus,
all the rapturous eulogiums of his enterprise, sunk into the soul of
Pinzon, as so many reproaches on himself; and when, at length, he
received a severe and reproachful reply to the letter he had written to
' the sovereigns, his morbid feelings added virulence to his malady,
and in a few days he sunk into the grave the victim of humiliation
and remorse.*

Muaoz Hist. N. Mundo, L. 4, $ 14. Charlevoix, Hist. S. Doming. L. 2.

176 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF fBooK V

He was a man of great spirit and enterprise, one of the ablest
seamen of the age, and the head of a family that continued to
distinguish itself among the early discoverers. He had contributed
greatly to encourage Columbus, when poor and unknown in Spain ;
offering his purse, and entering with hearty concurrence into his
plans. He had assisted him by his personal influence at Palos;
combating the public prejudices, and promoting the manning and
equipping of his vessels, when even the orders of the sovereigns
were of no avail; he had advanced the part of the funds to bo
borne by the admiral ; finally, he had embarked, with his brothers,
in the expedition, staking life as well as property on the event. He ,
had thus entitled himself to participate largely in the glory of this
immortal enterprise, but, forgetting the grandeur of the cause, he
had deserted the high object in view ; and by yielding to the im-
pulse of a low and sordid passion, had tarnished his character for
ever. That he was a man naturally of generous sentiments, is
evident from the poignancy of his remorse ; a mean man could not
have fallen a victim to self-upbraiding for having committed a mean
action. His story shows how one lapse from duty may counterbalance
the merits of a thousand services; how one moment of weakness
may mar the beauty of a whole life of virtue ; and how important
it is for a man, under all circumstances, to be true, not merely to
others, but to himself.*

* The misconduct of Martin Alonzo Pinzon appears to have been highly resented
for a time by the Catholic sovereigns ; still much may be said in palliation of
his error. The squadron was in part his property and had been principally
fitted out through his means and exertions. Familiarity having diminished his
first feelings of deference for Columbus, he forgot the infinite difference in merit
between the projector of the enterprise, and he who merely assisted to carry it
into effect ; hence he appears, at times to have considered himself entitled in justice
to an equal share in the command.

After a lapse of years the descendants of thePinzons made strenuous represen-
tations to the crown of the merits and services of their family, endeavouring to
prove, among other things, that, but for the aid and encouragement of Martin Alonzo
and his brothers, Columbus would never have made his discovery. Some of the
testimony rendered on this and another occasion, was rather extravagant and
absurd, as will be shown in another part of this work.* The Emperor Charles V.
however, taking into consideration the real services of the brothers in the first
voyage, and the subsequent expeditions and discoveries of that able and intrepid
navigator, Vicente Yanez Pinzon, granted to the family the well-merited rank and
privileges of Hidalguia, a degree of nobility which constituted them noble hidalgos
■with the right of prefixing the title of Don to their names. A coat of arms was
also given them, emblematical of their services as discoverers. These privileges
and arms are carefully preserved by the family at the present day.

* Vide DlustFi^tions. Article, Martin Alonzo Pimon.

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 177

CHAPTER VI.

RECEPTION OF COLUMBUS BY THE SPANISH COURT AT
BARCELONA.

The letter of Columbus to the Spanish moAarchs, announcing his
discovery, had produced the greatest sensation at court. The event
It communicated was considered the most extraordinary of their
prosperous reign ; and following so close upon the conquest of Gra-
nada, was pronounced a signal mark of divine favour, for that
triumph achieved in the cause of the true faith. The sovereigns
themselves were for a time dazzled and bewildered by this sudden
and easy acquisition of a new empire, of indefinite extent, and
apparently boundless wealth; and their first idea was to secure it
beyond the reach of question or competition. Shortly after his
arrival in Seville, Columbus received a letter from them, expressing
their great delight, and requesting him to repair immediately to
court, to concert plans for a second and more extensive expedition.
As the summer was already advancing, the time favourable for a
voyage, they desired him to make any arrangements at Seville, or
elsewhere, that might hasten the expedition, and to inform them by
tne return of the courier, what was necessary to be done on their
part. This letter was addressed to him by the title of " Don Chris-
topher Columbus, our admiral of the Ocean sea, and viceroy and
governor of the islands discovered in the Indias ;" at the same time

* The Pinzons at present reside principally in the little city of Moguer, about a
league from Palos ; and possess vineym-ds and estates about the neighbourhood.
They are in easy, if not affluent circumstances, and inhabit the best houses in
Moguer. Here they have continued, from generation to generation, since tho
time of the discovery, filling places of public trust and dignity, enjoying the good
opinion and good will of their fellow citizens, and flourishing in nearly the same
state in which they were found by Columbus, on his first visit to Palos. It is
rare indeed to find a family, in this fluctuating world, so little changed by the re-
volutions of nearly three centuries and a half.

Whatever Palos may have been in the time of Columbus, it is now a paltry
village of about four hundred inhabitants, who subsist chiefly by labouring in the
fields and vineyards. The convent of La Rabida still exists, but is inhabited
merely by two friars, with a novitiate and a lay brother. It is situated on a hill,
surrounded by a scattered forest of pine trees, and overlooks the low sandy coun-
try of the seacoast, and the windings of the river by which Columbus sallied
forth upon the ocean.

Vol. I. 12

178 LIFE AITO VOYAGES OF [Book V.

he was promised still further rewards. Columbus lost no time in
complying with the commands of the sovereigns. He sent a me-
morandum of the ships, men and munitions that would be requisite ;
and having made such dispositions at Seville as circumstances per-
mitted, set out on his journey for Barcelona, taking with him the
six Indians, and the various curiosities and productions which he
had brought from the New World.

The fame of his discovery had resounded throughout the nation,
and as his route lay through several of the finest and most populous
provinces of Spain, his journey appeared like the progress of a sove-
reign. Wherever he passed, the surrounding country poured forth
its inhabitants, who lined the road and thronged the villages. In
the large towns, the streets, windows and balconies, were filled with
eager spectators, who rent the air with acclamations. His journey
was continually impeded by the multitude pressing to gain a sight
of him, and of the Indians, who were regarded with as much admi-
ration as if they had been natives of another planet. It was impos-
sible to satisfy the craving curiosity which assailed himself and his
attendants, at every stage, with innumerable questions; popular
rumour, as usual, had exaggerated the truth, and had filled the newly
found country with all kinds of wonders.

It was about the middle of April that Columbus arrived at Bar-
celona, where every preparation had been made to give him a
solemn and magnificent reception. The beauty and serenity of the
weather in that genial season, and favoured climate, contributed to
give splendour to this memorable ceremony. As he drew near the
place, many of the more youthful courtiers, and hid-algos of gallant
bearing, together with a vast concourse of the populace, came forth
to meet and welcome him. His entrance into this noble city has
been compared to one of those triumphs which the Romans were
accustomed to decree to conquerors. First were paraded the Indians,
painted according to their savage fashion, and decorated with tropi-
cal feathers, and with their national ornaments of gold ; after these
were borne various kinds of live parrots, together with stuflTed birds
and animals of unknown species, and rare plants supposed to be
of precious qualities : while great care was taken to make a con-
spicuous display of Indian coronets, bracelets, and other decorations
of gold, which might give an idea of the wealth of the newly dis-
covered regions. After these followed Columbus, on horseback,
surrounded by a brilliant cavalcade of Spanish chivalry. The
streets were almost impassable from the countless multitude; the
windows and balconies were crowded with the fair ; the very roofs
were covered with spectators. It seemed as if the public eye could

Chap. VI. J CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 179

not be sated with gazing on these trophies of an unknown world;
or on the remarkable man by whom it had been discovered. There
was a sublimity in this event that mingled a solemn feeling with the
public joy. It was looked upon as a vast and signal dispensation
of providence in reward for the piety of the monarchs ; and the ma-
jestic and venerable appearance of the discoverer, so different from
the youth and buoyancy that are generally expected from roving
enterprise, seemed in harmony with the grandeur and dignity of his
achievement.

To receive him with suitable pomp and distinction, the sovereigns
had ordered their throne to be placed in public, under a rich canopy
of brocade of gold, in a vast and splendid saloon. Here the king and
queen awaited his arrival, seated in state, with the prince Juan beside
them ; and attended by the dignitaries of their court, and the principal
nobility of Castile, Valentia, Catalonia and Aragon ; all impatient
to behold the man who had conferred so incalculable a benefit upon
the nation. At length Columbus entered the hall, aiurrounded by a
brilliant crowd of cavaliers, among whom, says Las Casas, he was
conspicuous for his stately and commanding person, which, with his
countenance rendered venerable by his^ gray hairs, gave him the
august appearance of a senator of Rome. A modest smile lighted
up his features, showing that he enjoyed the state and glory in which
he came ;* and certainly nothing could be more deeply moving to a
mind inflamed by noble ambition, and conscious of having greatly
deserved, than these testimonials of the admiration and gratitude of
a nation, or rather of a world. As Columbus approached, the sove-
reigns rose, as if receiving a person of the highest rank. Bending
his knees, he requested to kiss their hands ; but there was some hesi-
tation on the part of their majesties to permit this act of vassalage.
Raising him in the most gracious manner, they ordered him to seat
himself in their presence ; a rare honour in this proud and punctil-
ious court.t

At the request of their majesties, Columbus now gave an account
of the most striking events of his voyage, and a description of the
islands, which he had discovered. He displayed the specimens he
had brought of unknown birds and other animals; of rare plants
of medicinal and aromatic virtue ; of native gold in dust, in crude
masses, or laboured into barbaric ornaments; and above all, the
natives of these countries, who were objects of intense and inex-
haustible interest ; since there is nothing to man so curious as the
varieties of his own species. All these he pronounced mere harbin-

I

Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C . 78. MS. t Idem. Hist, del Almirante, Cap 41 .

180 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF ' [Book V.

gers of greater discoveries he had yet to make, which would add
realms of incalculable wealth to the dominions of their majesties
and whole nations of proselytes to the true faith.
• The words of Columbus were listened to with profound emotion
by the sovereigns. When he had finished, they sunk on their
knees, and, raising their clasped hands to heaven, their eyes filled
with tears of joy and gratitude, they poured forth thanks and praises
to God for so great a providence; all present followed their example,
a deep and solemn enthusiasm pervaded that splendid assembly, and
prevented all common acclamations of triumph. The anthem of
Te Deum laudamua, chanted by the choir of the royal chapel, with
the melodious accompaniments of the instruments, rose up from the
midst in a full body of sacred harmony, bearing up, as it were, the
feelings and thoughts of the auditors to heaven, " so that," says the
venerable Las Casas, "it seemed as if in that hour they communi-
cated with celestial delights." Such was the solemn and pious man-
ner in which lihe brilliant court of Spain celebrated this sublime
event ; offering up a grateful tribute of melody and praise, and giv-
ing glory to God for the discovery of another world.

When Columbus retired ^om the royal presence he was attended
to his residence by all the court, and followed, by the shouting popu-
lace. For many days he was the object of universal curiosity, and
wherever he appeared he was surrounded by an admiring multitude.

While the mind of Columbus was thus teeming with glorious
anticipations, his pious scheme for the deliverance of the holy sepul-
chre was not forgotten. It has been shown that he suggested it to
the Spanish sovereigns at the time of first making his propositions,
holding it forth as the great object to be efifected by the profits of his
discoveries. Flushed with the idea of the vast wealth that was
now to accrue to himself, he made a vow to furnish within seven
years an army consisting of five thousand horse, and fifty thousand
foot, for the rescue of the holy sepulchre, and a similar force within
the five following years. This vow was recorded in one of his let-
ters to the sovereigns, to which he refers, but which is no longer
extant; nor is it certain whether it was made at the end of his first
voyage, or at a subsequent date, when the magnitude and wealthy
result of his discoveries became more fully manifest. He often
alludes to it vaguely in his writings, and he refers to it expressly in
a letter to Pope Alexander VI. written in 1502, in which he ac-
counts also for its non fulfilment. It is essential to a full comprehen-
sion of the (^aracter and motives of Columbus, that this wild and
visionary project should be borne in recollection. It will be found
to l\ave entwined itself in his mind with his enterprise of discove

Chap. V^II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUiS. 181

and that a holy crusade was to be the consummation of those divine
purposes for which he considered himself selected by heaven as an
agent. It shows how much his mind was elevated above selfish and
mercenary views. How it was filled with those devout and heroic
schemes, which in the time of the crusades had inflamed the thoughts,
aad directed the enterprises, of the bravest warriors and most illus-
trious princes.

CHAPTER VII.

SOJOURN OF COLUMBUS AT BARC:EL0NA ATTENTIONS PAID

HIM BY THE SOVEREIGNS AND COURTIERS. ^

The joy occasioned by the great discovery of Columbus was not
confined to Spain; the tidings were spread far and wide by the com-
munications of ambassadors, the correspondence of the learned, the
negotiations of merchants, and the reports of travellers, and the
whole civilized world was filled with wonder and delight. How
gratifying would it have been, had the press at that time, as at pre-
sent, poured forth its daily tide of speculation on every passing occur-
rence. With what eagerness should we seek to know the first ideas
and emotions of the public, on an event so unlocked for and sublime.*
Even the first announcement of it by contemporary -writers, though
brief and incidental, derive interest from being written at the time;
and from showing the casual way in which such great tidings
were conveyed about the world. Allegretto Allegretti, in his annals
of Sienna for 1493, mentions it as just made known there by the
letters of their merchants who were in Spain, and by the mouths of
various travellers.* The nev/s was brought to Genoa by the return
of her ambassadors Francisco Marchesi and Giovanni Antonio
Grimaldi, and was recorded among the triumphant events of the
year :t for the republic, though she may have slighted the opportu-
nity of making herself mistress of the discovery, has ever since been
tenacious of the glory of having given birth to the discoverer. The
tidings were soon carried to England, which as yet was but a mari-
time power of inferior importance. They caused, however, much

* Dirarj Senesi de Alleg. Allegre-tti. Muratori, Ital. Script. T. 23.
t Foglieta, Istoria de Genova, L. 2.

Q

cf

.^i^/^

182 LIFE AND VOYAGFS OF [Book V

wonder in London, and great talk and admiration in the court of
Henry VII. where the discovery was pronounced "a thing more di-
vine than human. We have this on the authority of Sebastian
Cabot, himself, the future discoverer of the northern continent of
America, who was in London at the time, and was inspired by the
event with a generous spirit of emulation.*

Every member of civilized society, in fact, rejoiced in the occur-
rence, as one in which he was more or less interested. To some it
opened a new and unbounded field of inquiry; to others of enterprise,
and every one awaited with intense eagerness the further develope-
ment of this unknown world, still covered with mystery, the partial
glimpses of which were so full of wonder. We have a brief testi-
mony of the emotions of the learned in a letter, written at the time,
by Peter Martyr to his friend Pomponius Loetus. " You tell me,
my amiable Pomponius," he writes, " that you leaped for joy, and
that your delight was mingled Vith tears, when you read my epistle,
certifying to you the hitherto hidden world of the antipodes. You
have felt and acted as became a man eminent for learning, for I can
conceive no aliment more delicious, than such tidings, to a cultivated
and ingenuous mind. I feel a wonderful exultation of spirits when
I converse with intelligent men who have returned from these re-
gions. It is like an accession of wealth to a miser. Our minds
soiled and debased by the common concerns of life and the vices of
society, become elevated and meliorated by contemplating such glo-
rious events.!

Notwithstanding this universal enthusiasm, however, no one was
*aware of the real importance of the discovery. No one had an idea
that this was a totally distinct portion of the globe, separated by
oceans from the ancient world. The opinion of Columbus was uni-
versally adopted, that Cuba was the end of the Asiatic continent,
and that the adjacent islands were in the Indian seas. This agreed
with the opinions of the ancients, heretofore cited about the moderate
distance from Spain to the extremity of India, sailing westwardly.
The parrots were also thought to resemble those described hy Pliny,
as 'abounding in ihe remote parts of Asia. The lands, therefore,
which Columbus had visited were called the West Indias; and as he
seemed to have entered upon a vast region of unexplored countries,
existing in a state of nature, the whole received the comprehensive
appellation of " The New World."

During the whole of his sojourn at Barcelona, the sovereigns took

* Hackluyt, Collect. Voyages, V. 3, p.
t Letters of P. Martyr, Let. 153.

Chap. VII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 183

every occasion to bestow on Columbus personal marks of their high
consideration. He was admitted at all times to the royal presence,
and the queen delighted to converse with him on the subject of his
enterprises. The king too, appeared occasionally on horseback,
with prince Juan on one side, and Columbus on the other. To per-
petuate in his family the glory of his achievement, a coat of arms was
assigned him, in which the royal arms, the castle and lion, were
quartered with his proper bearings, which were a group of islands
surrounded by waves. To these arms was afterwards annexed the
motto: ^

A CastiHa y a Leon,

Nuevo raundo dio Colon.

(To Castile and Leon
Columbus gave a new world.)

The pension of thii'ty crowns,* which had been decreed by the
sovereigns to him who in the first voyage should discover land, was
adjudged to Columbus, for having firs t seen the light on the shore.
It is said that the seaman who first descried the land, was so incensed
at being disappointed of what he conceived his merited reward, that
he renounced his country and his faith, and going into Africa turned
Mussulman; an anecdote which rests merely on the authority of
Oviedo,t who is extremely incorrect in his narration of this voyage,
and inserts many falsehoods told him by the enemies of the admiral.

It may, at first sight, appear but little accordant with the acknow-
ledged magnanimity of Columbus, to have borne away the prize
from this poor sailor, but this was a subject in which his whole
ambition was involved, and he was doubtless proud of the honour
of being personally the discoverer of the land as well as projector
of the enterprise.

Next to the countenance shown him by the king and queen, may
be mentioned that of Pedro Gonzalez de Mendoza, the grand cardinal
of Spain, and first subject of the realm; a man whose elevated
character for piety, learning, and high prince-like qualities, gave
signal value to his favours. He invited Columbus to a banquet,
where he assigned him the most honourable place at table, and had
him served with the ceremonials which in those punctilious times
were observed towards sovereigns. At this repast is said to have
occurred the well known anecdote of the egg. A shallow courtier
present, impatient of the honours paid to Columbus, and meanly
jealous of him as a foreigner, abruptly asked him whether he thought

* Equal to a value in gold of 39 dollars, and equivalent to 117 dollars in our day.
t Oviedo Cronica de las Indias, L. 2, C. 5.

184 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V

that, in case he had not discovered the Indias, there were not other
men in Spain, who would have been capable of the enterprise? To
this Columbus made no immediate reply, but, taking an egg, invited
the company to make it stand upon one end. Every one attempted
it, but in vain; whereupon he struck it upon the table so as to break
the end, and left it standing on the broken part; illustrating in this
simple manner, that when he had once shown the way to the New
World, nothing was easier than to follow it.*

The favour shown Columbus by the sovereigns^ ensured him for a
time the caresses of tlje nobiUty ; for in a court every one vies with
his neighbour in lavishing attentions upon the man "whom the king
delighteth to hcmour.'* Columbus bore all these caresses and dis-
tinctions with becoming modesty, though he must have felt a proud
satisfaction in the idea that they had been wrested, as it were, from
the nation by his courage and perseverance. One can hardly recog-
nize in the individual thus made the companion of princes, and the
theme of general wonder and admiration, the same obscure stranger
who but a short time before had been a common scoff and jest in this
very court, derided by some as an adventurer, and pointed at by
others as a madman. Those who had treated him with contumely
during his long course of solicitation, now sought to efface the
remembrance of it by adulations. Every one who had given him a
Httle cold countenance, or a few courtly smiles, now arrogated to
himself the credit of having been a patron and of having promoted
the discovery of the new world. Scarce a great man about the court,
but has been enrolled by his historian or biographer among the
benefactors of Columbtxs; though, had one tenth part of this boasted
patronage been really exerted, he would never have had to linger
seven years soliciting for an armament of three caravels. Columbus
knew well the weakness of the patronage that had been given him.
The only friends mentioned by him with gratitude, in his after letters^
as having been really zealous and effective, were those two worthy
friars, Diego de Deza, afterwards bishop of Palencia and Seville, and
Juan Perez, the prior of the convent of La Rabida.

Thus honoured by the sovereigns, courted by the great, idolized
by the people, Columbus, for a time, drank the honeyed draught
of popularity, before enmity and detraction had time to drug it with
bitterness. His discovery burst with such sudden splendour upon the
world, as to dazzle envy itself, and to call forth the general acclama-

♦ This anecdote rests on the authcmty of the Italian historian Benzoni, (lib. 1, p^
12, ed. Venetia, 1572.) It has been condemned as trivial, but the simplicity of the
reproof constitiites its severity^ and was characteristic of the practical sagacity
of C(dujnbus. Tlie universal popilarity of the anecdote is a proof of its merit.

Chap. VHI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 185

tions of mankind. Well would it be for the honour of human nature,
could history, like romance, close with the consummation of the
hero's wishes ; we should then leave Columbus in the full fruition
of great and well merited prosperity. But his history is destined to
furnish another proof, if proof be wanting, of the inconstancy of pub-
lic favour, even when won by distinguished services. No greatness
was ever acquired by more incontestable, unalloyed, and exalted
benefits rendered to mankind, yet none ever drew on its possessor
more unremitting jealousy and defamation, or involved him in more
unmerited distress and difficulty. Thus it is with illustrious merit ;
its very effulgence draws forth the rancorous passions of low and
grovelling minds, which too often have a temporary influence in
obscuring it to the world ; as the sun, emerging with full splendour
into the heavens, calls up, by the very fervour of his rays, the rank
and noxious vapours which for a time becloud his glory.

I

CHAPTER VIII.

FAPAL BULL OF PARTITION PREPARATIONS FOR A SBCOND

VOYAGE OF COLUMBUS.

[1493.]

In the midst of their rejoicings, the Spanish sovereigns lost no time
in taking every measure necessary to secure their new acquisitions.
Although it was supposed that the countries just discovered were ^

part of the territories of the Grand Khan, and of other oriental
princes, considerably advanced in civilization, yet there does not
appear to have been the least doubt of the right of their Catholic
majesties to take possession of them. During the crusades, a
doctrine had been established among the christian princes extremely
favourable to their ambitious designs. According to this, they had
the right to invade, ravage and seize upon the territories of all infidel
nations, under the plea of defeating the enemies of Christ, and extend-
ing the sway of his holy church on earth. In conformity to the
same doctrine, the pope, from his supreme authority over all temporal
things, was considered as empowered to dispose of all heathen lands,
to such pious potentates as would engage to reduce them to the '^^

dominion of the church, and to propagate the true faith among their

Q3

186 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V

Martin V. and his successors, had conceded to the crown of Portugal
all the lands it might discover from Cape Bojador to the Indias;
and the Catholic sovereigns, in a treaty concluded in 1479, with the
Portuguese monarch, had engaged themselves to respect the terri-
torial rights thus acquired. It was to this treaty that John 11.
alluded, in his conversation with Columbus, wherein he suggested
his title to the newly discovered countries.

On the first intelligence received from the admiral of his success,
therefore, the Spanish sovereigns took the immediate precaution to
secure the sanction of the pope, Alexander VI. had recently been
elevated to the holy chair j a pontiff whom some historians have
stigmatized with every vice and crime that could disgrace huma-
nity, but whom all have represented as eminently able and politic.
He was a native of Valentia, and being born a subject of the crown
of Aragon, it might be inferred was favourably disposed to Ferdi-
nand • but in certain questions which had come before him, he had
already shown a disposition not the most cordial towards the Catho-
lic monarch. At all events, Ferdinand was well aware of his worldly
and perfidious character, and endeavoured to manage him accord-
ingly. He dispatched ambassadors, therefore, to the court of Rom-e,
announcing the new discovery as an extraordinary triumph of the
faith : and setting forth the great glory and gain which must re-
dound to the church, from the dissemination of the Cathohc doctrines
throughout these vast and heathen lands. Care was also taken to
state that the present discovery did not in the least interfere with the
possessions ceded by the holy chair to Portugal, all which had been
sedulously avoided. Ferdinand, who was at least as politic as he
was pious, insinuated a hint at the same time, by which the pope
might perceive that he was determined^ at all events, to maintain
his important acquisitions. His ambassadors were instructed to
state that, in the opinion of many learned men, these nowly disco-
vered lands, having been taken possession of by the Catholic sove-
reigns, their title to the same did not require the papal sanction ;
still, as pious princes^ obedient to the holy chair, they supplicated
his holiness to issue a bull, making a concession of them, and of
such others as might be discovered, to the crown of Castile.

The tidings of the discovery were received in fact with great
astonishment and no less exultation by the court of Rome. The
Spanish sovereigns had already elevated themselves to high conse-
quence in the eyes of the church, by their war against the Moors of
Spain, which had been considered in the light of a pious crusade ;
and though richly repaid by the acquisition of the kingdom of Gra-
nad^i, was thought to entitle them to the gratitude of all Christendom

Chap VHI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS- 187

The present discovery was a still grander achievement; it was the
fulfilment of one of the sublime promises to the church j it was
giving to it "the heathen for an inheritance, and the uttermost parts
of the earth for a possession." No difficulty therefore was made in
granting, what was considered but a modest request, for so important
a service ; though it is probable the acquiescence of the worldly
minded pontiff was quickened by the insinuations of the politic
monarch.

A bull was accordingly issued, dated May 2d, 1493, ceding to
the Spanish sovereigns the same rights, privileges, and indulgences,
in respect to the newly discovered regions, as had been accorded to
the Portuguese, with regard to their African discoveries, under the
same condition of planting and propagating the Catholic faith. To
prevent any conflicting claims, however, between the two powers, in
the wide range of their discoveries, another bull was issued on the
following day, containing the famous line of demarcation, by
which their territories were thought to be clearly and permanently
defined. This was an ideal line drawn from the north to the south
pole, a hundred leagues to the west of the Azores, and the Cape de
Verd islands. All land discovered by the Spanish navigators to
the west of this line, and which had not been taken possession of
by any Christian power before the preceding Christmas, was to
belong to the Spanish crown : all land discovered in the contrary
direction was to belong to Portugal. It seems never to have occurred
to the pontiff, that by pushing their opposite careers of discovery,
they might some day or other come again in collision, and rene-w
the question of territorial right at the antipodes.

In the^ meantime, without waiting for the sanction of the court
of Rome, the utmost exertions were made by the sovereigns to fit
out a second expedition. To ensure regularity and dispatch in the
affairs relative to the New World, they were placed under the super-
intendance of Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca, archdeacon of Seville,
who afterwards rose to be successively bishop of Badajoz, Palencia
and Burgos, and finally patriarch of the Indias. He was a man of
family and influence ; his brothers Alonzo and Antonio were seniors
or lords of Coca and Alaejos, and the latter was comptroller general
of Castile. Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca is represented by Las Casas
as a worldly man, more calculated for temporal than spiritual con-
cerns; and well adapted to the busthng occupations of fitting out
and manning armadas. Notwithstanding the high ecclesiastical
dignities to which he arose, his worldly employments seem never to
have been considered incompatible with his sacred functions. En-
joying a perpetual, though unmerited, favour of the sovereign^ he

188 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V.

maintained a control of India affairs for about thirty years. He must
undoubtedly have possessed talents for business to ensure him such
perpetuity of office ; but he was malignant and vindictive ; and in
the gratification of his private resentments, he not only heaped
wrongs and sorrows upon the most illustrious of the early disco-
verers, but frequently impeded the progress of their enterprises, to
the great detriment of the crown. This he was enabled to do pri-
vately and securely by his official situation. His perfidious conduct
is repeatedly alluded to, but in guarded terms, by contemporary
writers of weight and credit, such as the curate of Los Palacios, and
the bishop Las Casas ; but they evidently were cautious of speaking
the fulness of their feelings. Subsequent Spanish historians, always
more or less controlled by ecclesiastical supervision, have likewise
dealt too favourably with this base minded man. He merits to be
held up as a warning example of those perfidious beings in office,
who too often lie like worms at the root of honourable enterprise,
blighting by their unseen influence the fruits of gloiious action, and
disappointing the hopes of nations.

To assist Fonseca in his new duties, Francesco Pinelo was asso-
ciated with him as treasurer, and Juan de Soria as contador, or
comptroller. Their office for the transaction of India affairs was
fixed at Seville; extending its vigilance, at the same time, to the
port of Cadiz, where a custom-house was estabhshed for this new
oranch of navigation. Such was the germ of the royal India
House, which afterwards rose to such great power and importance.
A correspondent office was ordered to be instituted in Hispaniolaj
under the direction of the admiral. These offices were to interchange
registers of the cargoes, crews and munitions of each ship, by ac-
countants who sailed with it. All persons thus employed were
dependent upon the two comptrollers general, superior ministers of
the royal revenue ; since the crown was to be at all the expenses of
the colony, and to receive all the emoluments.

The most minute and rigorous account was to be exacted of all
expenses and proceeds : and the most vigilant caution observed as to
the persons employed in the concerns of the newly discovered lands.
No one was permitted to go there, either to trade, or to form an
establishment, without express license from the sovereigns, from
Columbus, or from Fonseca, under the heaviest penalties. The
Ignorance of the age as to enlarged principles of commerce, and
the example of the Portuguese in respect to their African posses-
sions, have been cited in excuse of the narrow and jealous spirit here
manifested; but it always more or less influenced the policy of Spain
in her colonial regulations.

Chap. VTIL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 18&

Another instance of the despotic sway maintained by the crown
over commerce, is manifested in a royal order, that all ships in the
ports of Andalusia, with their captains, pilots, and crews, should
be held in readiness to serve in this expedition. Columbus and Fon-
seca were authorized to freight or purchase any of those vessels they
might think proper, and to take them by, force, if refused, even
though they had been freighted by other persons ; paying what they
should conceive a reasonable price. They were furthermore autho-
rized to take the requisite provisions, arms, and ammunition, from
any place or vessel in which they might be found, paying a fair
price to the owners ; and they might compel not merely mariners,
but any officer holding any rank or station whatever, whom they
should deem necessary to the service, to embark in the fleet, on a
reasonable pay and salary. The civil authorities, and all persons
of rank and standing, were called upon to render all required aid in
expediting the armament, and warned against causing any impedi-
ment, under penalty of privation of office, and confiscation of estate.

To provide for the expenses of the expedition, the royal revenue
arising from two thirds of the church tythes, was placed at the dis-
position of Pinelo ; and other funds were drawn from a disgraceful
source, from the jewels and other valuables, the sequestrated pro-
perty of the unfortunate Jews banished from the kingdom, according
to a bigoted edict of the preceding year. As these resources were
still inadequate, Pinelo was authorized to raise the defit iency by a
loan. Requisitions were likewise made for provisions of all kinds,
as well as for artillery, powder, muskets, lances, corselets, and cross-
bows. This latter weapon, notwithstanding the introduction of fire-
arms, was still preferred by many to the arquebus, and considered
more formidable and destructive; the other having to be used with
a matchlock, and being so heavy as to require an iron rest. The
military stores, which had accumulated during the war with the
Moors of Granada, furnished a great part of these supplies. Almost
all the preceding orders were issued by the 23d of May, while Co-
lumbus was yet at Barcelona. Rarely has there been witnessed
such a scene of activity in the dilatory offices of Spain.

As the conversion of the Heathens was professed to be the grand
object of these discoveries, twelve zealous and able ecclesiastics were
chosen for the purpose, to accompany the expedition. Among these
was Bernardo Buyl or Boyle, a Benedictine monk of talents and
reputed sanctity, but one of those subtle politicians of the cloister,
who in those days glided into all temporal concerns. He had ac-
quitted himself with address in recent negotiations with France,
relative to the restitution of Rousillon. Before the sailing of the

^ ♦•'

190 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V.

fleet, he was appointed by the pope his apostolical vicar for the new
world, and placed as superior over his ecclesiastical brethren This
pious mission was provided with all things necessary for the digni-
fied performance of its functions; the queen supplying, from her
own chapel, the ornaments and vestments to be used in all solemn
ceremonies. Isabella, from the first, took the most warm and com-
passionate interest in the welfare of the Indians. Won by the ac-
counts given by Columbus of their gentleness and simplicity, and
looking upon them as committed by heaven to her especial care,
her pious heart was filled with concern at their destitute and igno-
rant condition. She ordered that great care should be taken of
their religious instruction, that they should be treated with the
utmost kindness, and enjoined Columbus to inflict signal punish-
ment on all Spaniards who should be guilty of outrage or injustice
towards them.

By way, as it was said, of oflfering to heaven the first fruits of
these pagan nations, the six Indians whom Columbus had brought
to Barcelona, were baptized with great state and ceremony : the
king, the queen, and Prince Juan officiating as sponsors. Great
hopes were entertained that, on their return to their native country,
they would facilitate the introduction of Christianity among their
countrymen. One of them, at the request of Prince Juan, remained
in his household, but died not long afterwards ; a Spanish historian
remaiks that, according to what ought to be our pious belief, he was
the first of his nation that entered heaven.*

Before the departure of Columbus from Barcelona, the provisional
agreement made at Santa Fe was confirmed, granting him the
titles, emoluments, and prerogatives of admiral, viceroy, and gover-
nor, of all the countries he had discovered or might discover. He
was intrusted also with the royal seal, with authority to use the
names of their majesties, in granting letters patent and commissions
within the bounds of his jurisdiction ; with the right also, in case of
absence, to appoint a person in his place, and to invest him for the
time with the same powers.

It had been premised in the agreement, that, for all vacant oflices
in the government of the islands and main land, he should nominate
three candidates, out of which number the sovereigns should make
a choice ; but now, to save time, and to show their confidence in
Columbus, they empowered him to appoint, at once, such persons
as he thought proper, who were to hold their offices during the
royal pleasure. He had likewise the title and command of captain

Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, L. 2, Cap. 5.

•^^

Chap. IX.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 191

general of the armament about to sail, with unqualified powers as
to the government of the crews, the establishments to be formed in
the new world, and the ulterior discoveries to be undertaken.

This was the honej-moon of rojal favour, during which Colum»
bus enjojed the unbounded and well merited confidence of his sove-
reigns, before envious minds had dared to insinuate a doubt of
his integrity. After receiving every mark of public honour and
private regard, he took leave of the sovereigns on the 28th of May ;
the whole court accompanied him from the palace to his dwelling,
and attended also to pay him farewell honours, on his departure
from Barcelona for Seville.

CHAPTER IX.

DIPLOMATIC NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE COURTS OF SPAIN
AND PORTUGAL, WITH RESPECT TO THE NEW DISCOVERIES

[1493.]

The anxiety of the Spanish monarchs for the speedy departure of
the expedition, was heightened hy the proceedings of the court of
Portugal, John II. had unfortunately among his counsellors, certain
politicians of that short-sighted class, who mistake craft for wisdom.
By adopting their perfidious policy, he had lost the new world, when
it was an object of honourable enterprise ; in compiiance with their
advice, he now sought to retrieve it by subtle stratagem. He had
accordingly prepared a large armament, the avowed object of which
was an expedition to Africa, but its real destination to seize upon
the newly discovered countries. To lull suspicion, Don Ruy de
Sande was sent ambassador to the Spanish court, requesting per-
mission to procure certain prohibited articles from Spain, for this
African voyage. He required also that the Spanish sovereigns
should forbid their subjects to fish beyond Cape Bojador, until the
possessions of the two nations should be properly dehned. The dis-
covery of Columbus, the real object of solicitude, was treated as an
incidental affair. The manner of his arrival and reception in Por-
tugal was mentioned; the congratulations of King John on the happy
result of his voyage : his satisfaction at finding that the admiral

I

192 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP Pook V.

had been instructed to steer westward from the Canary islands ; and
his hope that the Castilian sovereigns would continue to enjoin a
similar route upon their voyagers ; all to the south of those islands
being granted by papal bull to the crown of Portugal, He con-
cluded by intimating the entire confidence of King John, that should
it appear that any of the newly discovered islands appertained by
right to Portugal, the matter would be adjusted in that spirit of
amity which existed between the two crowns.

Ferdinand was too wary a politician to be easily deceived. He
had received early intelligence of the real designs of King John,
and, before the arrival of his ambassador, Le had himself dispatched
Don Lope de Herrera to the Portuguese court, furnished with
double instructions, and with two letters of widely opposite tenor.
The first was couched in aflfectionate terms, acknowledging the hos-
pitality and kindness shown to Columbus, and communicating the
nature of his discoveries; requesting at the same time that the Por-
tuguese navigators migh't be prohibited from visiting those newly
discovered lands, in the same manner as the Spanish soyereigns had
prohibited their subjects from interfering with the African posses-
sions of Portugal.

In case, however, the ambassador found that King John had
either sent, or was about to send, vessels to the new world, he was
to withhold the amicable letter, and present the other, couched in
stern and peremptory terms, forbidding any enterprise of the kind.*
A keen diplomatic game ensued between the two sovereigns, per-
plexing to any spectator not acquainted with the secret of their
play. Resende, in his history of John II. informs us that the Por-
tuguese monarch, by large presents, or rather bribes, held certain of
the confidential members of the Castilian cabinet in his interest, who
imformed him of the most secret counsels of their court. The roads
were thronged with couriers ; scarce was an intention expressed by
Ferdinand*to his ministers, but it was conveyed to his rival mo-
narch. The result was that the Spanish sovereigns seemed as if
under the influence of some enchantment. King John anticipated
all their movements, and appeared to dive into their very thoughts.
Their ambassadors were crossed on the road by Portuguese ambas-
sadors, empowered to settle the very points about which they were
going to make remonstrances. Frequently when Ferdinand pro-
posed a sudden and perplexing question to the envoys at his court,
which apparently would require fresh instructions from their sove-
reigns, he would be astonished by a prompt and positive reply ; mos*

* Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, Lib. 2. Zurita, Anales de Aragon, Lib. 1, C. 25,

Chap. IX.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 193

of the questions which were hkelj to occur, having, through secret
information, been foreseen and provided for. As a surmise of
treachery in the cabinet might naturally arise, King John, whiie he
rewarded his agents in secret, endeavoured to divert suspicion from
them upon others, making rich presents of jewels to the duke of
Infantado and other Spanish grandees of incorruptible integrity.*

Such is the intriguing diplomatic craft, which too often passes
for refined policy, and is extolled as the wisdom of the cabinet ; but
all corrupt and disingenuous measures are unworthy of an enlight-
ened politician and a magnanimous prince. The grand principles
of right and wrong operate in the same way between nations as
between individuals; fair and open conduct, and inviolable faith,
however they may appear adverse to present purposes, are the only
kind of policy that will ensure ultimate and honourable success.

King John, having received intelligence, in the furtive manner
that has been mentioned, of the double instructions furnished to
Don Lope de Herrera, received him in such a manner as to prevent
any resort to his peremptory letter. He had already dispatched an
extra envoy to the Spanish court, to keep it in good humour, and he
now appointed doctor Pero Diaz and Don Ruy de Pena ambassa-
dors to the Spanish sovereigns, to adjust all questions relative to the
new discoveries, and promised that no vessel should be permitted to
sail on a voyage of discovery within sixty days after their arrival
at Barcelona. These ambassadors were instructed to propose, as a
mode of effectually settling all claims, that a line should be drawn
from the Canaries due west; all lands and seas north of it to apper-
tain to the Castilian crown ; all south to the crown of Portugal,
excepting any Islands already in possession of either power.!

Ferdinand had now the vantage ground; his object was to gain
time for the preparations and departure of Columbus, by entangling
King John in long diplomatic negotiations. J In reply to his pro-
posals, he dispatched Don Pedro de Ayala and Don Garcia Lopez
de Caravajal on a solemn embassy to Portugal, in which there was
great outward pomp and parade, and many professions of amity;
but the whole purport of which was to propose to submit the territo-
rial questions which had arisen between them to arbitration or to the
court of Rome. This stately embassy moved with becoming slow-
ness, but a special envoy was sent in advance to apprize the king
of Portugal of its approach, in order to keep him waiting for its
communications.

* Resende, Vida del Rey Doni Joam II. Cap. 157. Faria y Sousa, Europe
Portugiiesa, T. 2, p. 3, C. 4. t Zurita, L. 1, Cap. 25. Herrera, Decad. 1, L. 2,
Cap. 5. t Vasconcelos, Don Juan II. Lib. 6.

Vol. L 13 R

194 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V.

King John understood the whole nature and object of the embassy,
and felt that Ferdinand was foiling him. The ambassadors at length
arrived, and delivered their credentials with great form and ceremony.
As they retired from his presence, he looked after them contempt-
uously: "this embassy from our cousin," said he, "wants both head
and feet." He alluded to the character both of the mission and the
envoys. Don Garcia de Caravajal was vain and frivolous, and
Don Pedro de Ayala was lame of one leg.*

In the height of his vexation, King John is even said to have
held out some vague show of hostile intentions, taking occasion to
let the ambassadors discover him reviewing his cavalry, and drop-
ping ambiguous words in their hearing, which might be construed
into something of menacing import, t The embassy returned to
Castile, leaving him in a state of perplexity and irritation; but
whatever might be his chagrin, his discretion prevented him from
coming to an open rupture. He had some hopes of an interference
on the part of the Pope, to whom he had sent an embassy complain-
ing of the pretended discoveries of the Spaniards as infringing the
territories granted to Portugal by papal bull, and earnestly implor-
ing redress. Here, as has been shown, his wary antagonist had
been beforehand with him, and he was doomed again to be foiled.
The only reply his ambassador received, was a reference to the line
of partition from pole to pole, so sagely devised by his holiness. J
Such was this royal game of diplomacy, where the parties were
playing for a newly discovered world. John H. was able and intel-
ligent, and had crafty counsellors to advise him in all his moves ;
but wherever deep and subtle policy was reauired, Ferdinand was a
master at the game.

* Vasconcelos, Lib. 6. Barros, Asia, D. 1, L. 3, Cap. 2.
t Vasconcelos, Lib. 6. t Herrera, Dec. 1, L. 2, Cap. 5.

Chaf. X.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 195

CHAPTER X

FURTHER PREPARATIONS FOR THE SECOND VOYAGE CHARACTER

OF ALONZO DE OJEDA DIFFERENCES OF COLUMBUS WITH SORIA

AND FONSECA.

[1493.]

Distrustful of some attempt on the part of Portugal to interfere
with their discoveries, the Spanish sovereigns, in the course of their
negotiations, wrote repeatedly to Columbus, urging him to hasten
his departure. His zeal, however, needed no incitement; immedi-
ately on arriving at Seville, in the beginning of June, he had pro-
ceeded with all diligence to fit out the armament, making use of the
powers given him, to put in requisition the ships and crews which
were in the harbours of Andalusia. He was joined soon after by
Fonseca and Soria, who had remained for a time at Barcelona, and
with their united exertions a fleet of seventeen vessels, large and
small, were soon in a state of preparation. The best pilots were
chosen for the service, and the crews were mustered in presence
of Soria the comptroller. A number of skilful husbandmen, miners,
carpenters, and other mechanics, were engaged for the projected co-
lony. Horses, both for military purposes and for stocking the coun-
try, cattle, and domestic animals of all kinds, were likewise provided.
Grain, seeds of various plants, vines, sugar-canes, grafts, and sap-
lings, were embarked, together with a great quantity of merchandise,
consisting of trinkets, beads, hawks' bells, looking glasses, and other
showy trifles, calculated for trafficking with the natives. Nor was
there wanting an abundant supply of provisions of all sorts, muni-
tions of war, and medicines and refreshments for the* sick.

An extraordinary degree of excitement prevailed respecting this
expedition. The most extravagant fancies were entertained with
respect to the new world. The accounts given by the voyagers who
had visited it were full of exaggeration ; for in fact they had nothing
but vague and confused notions concerning it, like the recollec-
tions of a dream ; and it has been shown that Columbus himself had
beheld every thing through the most delusive medium. The viva*
city of his descriptions, and the sanguine anticipations of his ardent
spirit, while they aroused the public to a wonderful degree of enthu-

196 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V.

siasm, prepared the way for bitter disappointment. The cupidity
of the avaricious was inflamed with the idea of regions of unappro-
priated wealth, where the rivers rolled over golden sands, and the
mountains teemed with gems and precious metals: where the groves
produced spices and perfumes, and the shores of the ocean were sown
with pearl. Others had conceived visions of a loftier kind. It was
a romantic and stirring age, and the wars with the Moors being
over, and hostilities with the French suspended, the bold and restless
spirits of the nation, impatient of the monotony of peaceful life were
eager for employment. To these the new world presented a vast
field for wild enterprise and extraordinary adventure, so congenial to
the Spanish character, in that period of its meridian fervour and
brilliancy. Many hidalgos of high rank, officers of the royal house-
hold, and Andalusian cavaliers, schooled in arms, and inspired with
a passion for hardy achievements by the romantic wars of Granada,
pressed into the expedition, some in the royal service, others at their
own cost. To them it was the commencement of a new series
of crusades, surpassing in extent and splendour the chivalrous enter-
prises to the holy land. They pictured to themselves vast and
beautiful islands of the ocean, to be overrun and subdued ; their inter-
nal wonders to be explored, and the banner of the cross to be planted
on the walls of the cities they were supposed to contain. From
thence they were to make their way to the shores of India, or rather
Asiei, penetrate into Mangi and Cathay, convert, or what was the
same thing, conquer the Grand Khan, and thus open a glorious
career of arms among the splendid countries and semi-barbarous
nations of the east.. Thus no one had any definite idea of the object
or nature of the sei-vice in which he was embarking, or the situation
and character of the region to which he was bound. Indeed, durmg
this fever of the imagination, had sober facts and cold realities been
presented, they would have been rejected with disdain; for there is
nothing of which the pubUc is more impatient, than of being dis-
turbed in the indulgence of any of its golden dreams.

Among the noted personages who engaged in the expedition was
a young cavalier of the name of Don Alonzo de Ojeda, celebrated
for his extraordinary personal endowments, and his daring spirit;
and who distinguished himself among the early discoverers, by many
perilous expeditions, and singular exploits. He was of a good family ;
cousin german to the venerable father Alonzo de Ojeda, inquisitor of
Spain; had been brought up under the patronage of the duke of
Medina Coeli, and had served in the wars against the Moors. He
was of small stature but vigorous make, well proportioned, dark
complexioned, of handsome animated countenance, and incredible

Chap. X.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 197

strength and agility. Expert at all kinds of weapons, accomplished
in all manly and warlike exercises, an admirable horseman, and a
partisan soldier of the highest order: bold of heart, free of spirit, open
of hand, fierce in fight, quick in brawl, but ready to forgive, and
prone to forget an injury, he was for a long time the idol of the rash
and roving youth who engaged in the early expeditions to the New
World, and has been made the hero of many wonderful tales. On
introducing him to historical notice. Las Casas gives an anecdote of
one of his exploits, which would be unworthy of record, but that it
exhibits the singular character of the man.

Q,ueen Isabella being in the tower of the cathedral of Seville,
better known as the Giralda, Ojeda, to entertain her majesty, and to
give proofs of his courage and agility, mounted on a great beam
which projected in the air, twenty feet from the tower, at such an
immense height from the ground that the people below looked like
dwarfs, and it was enough to make Ojeda himself shudder to look
down. Along this beam he walked briskly, and with as much con-
fidence as though he had been pacing his chamber. When arrived
at the end, he stood on one leg, lifting the other in the air; then
turning nimbly round he returned in the same way to the tower,
unaffected by the giddy height, from whence the least false step
would have precipitated him, and dashed him to pieces. He after^
wards stood with one foot on the beam, and placing the other
against the wall of the building, threw an orange to the summit of
the tower, a proof, says Las Casas, of immense muscular strength.
Such was Alonzo de Ojeda, who soon became conspicuous among
the followers of Columbus, and was always foremost in every enter-
prise of an adventurous nature; who courted peril as if for the very
love of danger, and seemed to fight more for the pleasure of fighting,
than for the sake of distinction.*

The number of persons permitted to embark in the expedition had
been limited to one thousand; but such was the urgent application of
volunteers to be allowed to enlist without pay, that the number had
been increased to twelve hundred; many more were refused, for want
of room in the ships for their accommodation, but some contrived to
get admitted by stealth, so that eventually about fifteen hundred set
sail in the fleet. As Columbus, in his laudable zeal for the welfare
of the enterprise, provided every thing that might be necessary in
various possible emergencies, the expenses of the outfit exceeded what

• Las Casas, Lib. 1. MS, Pizarro, Varones lUustres. Herrera, Decad. 1,
Lib. 11, Cap. 5, „

198 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V

had been anticipated. This gave rise to occasional demurs on the
part of the comptroller, Juan de Soria, who sometimes refused to sign
the accounts of the admiral, and in the course of their transactions
seems to have forgotten the deference due both to his character and
station. For this he received repeated and severe reprimands from
the sovereigns, who emphatically commanded that Columbus should
be treated with the greatest respect, and every thing done to facili-
tate his plans and yield him satisfaction. From similar injunctions
inserted in the royal letters to Fonseca, the archdeacon of Seville, it
is probable that he also had occasionally indulged in the captious
exercise of his official powers. He appears to have demurred to
various requisitions of Columbus, particularly one for footmen and
other domestics for his immediate service, to form his household and
retinue as admiral and viceroy; a demand which was considered
superfluous by the prelate, as all who . embarked in the expedition
were at his command. In reply, the sovereigns ordered that Co-
lumbus should be allowed ten escuderos de a pie, or footmen, and
twenty persons in other domestic capacities, and reminded Fonseca
that they had charged him, that both in the nature and mode of his
transactions with the admiral he should study to give him content;
observing that, as the whole armament was intrusted to his com-
mand, it was but reasonable that his wishes should be consulted, and
that no one should embarrass him with punctilios and diffieulties.*

These trivial differences are worthy of particular notice, from the
effect they appear to have had on the mind of Fonseca: for from them
we must date the first rise of that singular hostility which be ever
after manifested towards Columbus, which every year increased in
rancour, and which he gratified in the most invidious manner by
secretly multiplying impediments and vexations in his path.

While the expedition was yet lingering in port, intelligence was
received that a Portuguese caravel had set sail from Madeira, and
steered for the west. Suspicions were immediately awakened that
she was bound for the lately discovered lands. Columbus wrote an
account of it to the sovereigns, and proposed to dispatch a part of his
fleet in pursuit of her. His proposition was approved, but not carried
into effect. On remonstrances being made to the court of Lisbon,
King John declared that the vessel had sailed without his permis-
sion, and that he would send three caravels to bring her back. This
only served to increase the jealousy of the Spanish monarchs, who
considered the whole a deep laid stratagem, and that it was intended

* Navarrete, CoUec. T. 2. Documcntos, No. 62, 63, $4, 65, 6e.

Chap. X.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 199

the vessels should join their forces, and pursue their course together
to the New World. Columbus was urged, therefore, to depart with-
out an hour's delay; and instructed to steer wide of Cape St. Vin-
cent, and entirely avoid the Portuguese coasts and islands, for fear of
molestation. If he met with any vessels in the seas he had explored,
he was to seize them, and to inflict rigorous punishment on the crews.
Fonseca was also ordered to be on the alert, and in case any expedi-
tion sailed from Portugal, to send double the force after it. These
precautions, however, proved unnecessary. Whether such caravels
actually did sail, and whether they were sent with sinister motives
by Portugal, does not appear: nothing was either seen or heard of
them by Columbus in the course of his voyage.

It may be as well, for the sake of distinctness, to anticipate in
this place the regular course of history, and mention the manner in
which this territorial question was finally settled between the rival
sovereigns. It was impossible for King John to repress his disquiet
at the indefinite enterprises of the Spanish : he did not know how
far they might extend, and whether they might not forestal him in
all his anticipated discoveries in India. Finding, however, all at-
tempts fruitless to gain by stratagem an advantage over his wary
and skilful antagonist, and despairing of any further assistance from
the court of Rome, he had recourse at last to fair and amicable ne-
gotiations, and found, as is generally the case with those who turn
aside into the inviting but crooked paths of craft, that had he kept
to the line of frank and open policy, he would have saved himself a
world of perplexity, and have arrived sooner at his object. He
offered to leave to the Spanish sovereigns the free prosecution of
their western discovery, and to conform to the plan of partition by a
meridian line ; but he represented that this line had not been drawn
far enough to the west; that while it left the wide ocean free to the
range of Spanish enterprise, his navigators could not venture more
than a hundred leagues west of his possessions, and had no scope
nor sea-room for their southern voyages.

After much difficulty and discussion, this momentous dispute was
adjusted by deputies from the two crowns, who met at Tordesillas,
in Old Castile, in the following year, and on the 7th of June, 1494,
signed a treaty, by which the papal line of partition was moved to
three hundred and seventy leagues west of the Cape de Verde
islands. It was agreed that within ten months an equal number of
caravels and mariners on the part of the two nations, ^ould rendez-
vous at the island of the Grand Canary, provided with men learned
in astronomy and navigation. They were to proceed thence to the
Cape de Verd islands, and thence westward three hundred and se-

200 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book V.

venty leagues, and determine the proposed line from pole to pole,
dividing the ocean between the two nations.* Each of the two
powers engaged solemnly to observe the bounds thus prescribed,
and to prosecute no enterprise beyond its proper limits; though it
was agreed that the Spanish navigators might traverse freely the
eastern parts of the ocean in prosecuting their rightful voyages.
Various circumstances impeded the proposed expedition to deter-
mine the line, but the treaty remained in force, and prevented all
further dissensions.

Thus, says Vasconcelos, this great question, the greatest ever agi-
tated between the two crowns, for it was the partition of a new
world, was amicably settled by the prudence and address of two of
the most politic monarchs that ever swayed sceptre. It was ar-
ranged to the contentment of both parties, each holding himself en-
titled to the vast countries that might be discovered within his
boundary, without any regard to the rights of the native inha-
bitants.

' Zurita, Hist, del Rei Femand. Lib. 1, C. 39. Vasconcelos, Lib. 6.

LIFE AND VOYAGES

or

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

BOOK VI.

CHAPTER I.

DEPARTURE OF COLUMBUS ON HIS SECOND VOYAGE DISCOVERY

OF THE CARIBBEE ISLANDS.

[1493.]

The departure of Columbus on his second voyage of discovery pre-
sented a brilliant contrast to his gloomy embarkation at Palos. On
the 25th September, at the dawn of day, the bay of Cadiz was
whitened by his fleet. There were three large ships of heavy bur-
then,* and fourteen caravels, loitering with flapping sails, and wait-
ing the signal to get under way. The harbour resounded with the
well known note of the sailor, hoisting sail or weighing anchor. A
motle}'- crowd were hurrying c^ board, and taking leave of their
friends, in the confidence of a prosperous voyage and triumphant
return. There was the high spirited cavalier, bound on romantic
enterprise ; the hardj'' navigator, ambitious of acquiring laurels in
these unknown seas; the roving adventurer, who anticipates every
thing from change of place and distance; the keen calculating
speculator, eager to profit by the ignorance of savage tribes; and
the pale missionary from the cloister, anxious to extend the domi-
nion of the chureh, or devoutly zealous for the propagation of the
faith. All were full of animation and lively hope. Instead of be-

* Peter Martyr says they were carracks(a large species of merchant vessel,
principally used in coasting trade) of one hundred tons burthen, and that two ot
the caravels were much larger than the rest and more capable of bearing decks
from the size of their masts. Decade 1, Lib, I,

202 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VI.

ing regarded by the populace as devoted men, bound upon a dark
and desperate enterprise, they were contemplated with envy, as fa-
voured mortals, destined to golden regions and happy climes, v/here
nothing but wealth, and wonder, and delights awaited them. Co-
lumbus moved among the throng, conspicuous for his height and
for his commanding appearance. He was attended by his two sons,
Diego and Fernando, the eldest but a stripling, who had come to
witness his departure,* both proud of the glory of their father.
Wherever he passed, every eye followed him with admiration, and
every tongue praised and blessed him. Before sunrise, the whole
fleet was under way; the weather was serene and propitious; and
as the populace watched their parting sails, brightening in the
morning beams, they looked forward to their joyful return, laden
with the treasures of the new world.

According to the instructions of the sovereigns, Columbus steered
wide of the coasts of Portugal, and of its islands, standing to the
southwest for the Canaries, where he arrived on the first of October
After touching at the Grand Canary, he anchored on the 5th at
Gomera, where he took in a supply of wood and water for the
voyage. Here also he purchased calves, goats, and sheep, to stock
the island of Hispaniola; and eight hogs, from which, according
to Las Casas, the infinite number of swine was propagated, with
which the Spanish settlements in the new world subsequently
abounded. A number of domestic fowls were likewise purchased,
which were the origin of the species in the new world ; and the
same might be said of the seeds of oranges, lemons, bergamots,
melons, and various orchard fruits,! which were thus first introduc-
ed into the islands of the west, from the Hesperides, or Fortunate
islands of the old world. J

On the 7th, when about to sail, Columbus gave to the command-
er of each vessel a sealed letter of instructions, in which was spe-
cified his rout to the harbour of Nativity, the residence of the ca-
cique Guacanagari. This was only to be opened in case of being
separated by accident; as he wished to make a mystery, as long as
possible, of the exact route to the newly discovered countries, lest

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 44.

t Las Casas, Hist. Ind. Lib. 1, Cap. 83. MS.

t Mens, de Humboldt is of opinion that there were wild oranges, small and bit-
ter, as well as wild lemons in the new world prior to the discovery. Caldcleugh
also mentions that the Brazilians consider the small bitter wild orange of i.« liv«
origin. Humboldt, Essai Politique sur I'isle de Cuba, T. 1, p. 68.

Chap. I.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 203

adventurers of other nations, and, particularly the Portuguese, should
follow in his track, and interfere with his enterprises.*

After making sail from Gomera, they were becalmed for a few
days among the Canaries, until on the 13th of October, a fair breeze
sprang up from the east, which soon carried them out of sight of
the island of Ferro. Columbus held his course to the southwest,
intending to keep considerably more to the southward than in his
first voyage, in hopes of falling in with the islands of the Caribs,
of which he had received such vague and wonderful accounts from
the Indians. t Being in the region of the trade winds, the breeze
continued fair and steady, with a quiet sea and pleasant weather,
and by the 24th they bad made four hundred and fifty leagues west
of Gomera, without having seen any of those fields of sea-weeda,
which they had encountered within a much less distance on their
first voyage, when their appearance had been so important, and al-
most providential, inspiring continual hope, and enticing them for-
ward in their dubious enterprise. Now they needed no such sig-
nals ; they were full of confidence and lively anticipation, and on
seeing a swallow circling about the ships, and being visited occa-
sionally by sudden showers, they began to look out cheerily for
land.

Towards the latter part of October, they were alarmed in the
night by one of those sudden gusts of heavy rain, which are ac-
companied, in the tropics, with intense lightning, and tremendous
peals of thunder. It lasted for four hours, and they considered
themselves in much peril, until they beheld several of those lam-
bent flames playing about the tops of the masts, and gliding along
the rigging, which are occasionally seen about tempest-tossed ves-
sels, during a highly electrical state of the atmosphere. These
singular phenomena, occurring in such awful times of gloom and
peril, have always been objects of superstitious fancies among sail-
ors. Fernando Columbus records their present appearance, and
makes remarks on them strongly characteristic of the age in which
he lived. " On the same Saturday, in the night, was seen St. Elmo,
with seven lighted tapers, at the topmast; there was much rain and
great thunder ; I mean to say that those lights were seen which ma-
riners affirm to be the body of St. Elmo, on beholding which they
chant many litanies and orisons, holding it for certain that, in the
tempest in which he appears, no one is in danger. Be that as it
may, I leave the matter to them ; but if we may believe Pliny,
similar lights have sometimes appeared to the Roman mariners dur-

* Las Casas, ubi sup. t Letter of Dr. Chanca.

204 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VI.

ing' tempests at sea, which they said were Castor and Pollux, of
which likewise Seneca makes mention."*

On the evening of Saturday, the 2d of November, Columbus was
convinced from the colour of the sea, the nature of the waves,
the variable winds, and frequent showers, that they must be near to
land; he gave orders, therefore, to take in sail, and to maintain a
vigilant watch throughout the night. He had judged with his
usual sagacity. As the morning dawned, a lofty island was de-
scried to the west, at the sight of which there were shouts of joy
throughout the fleet ; Columbus gave to the island the name of Do-
minica, from having discovered it on Sunday. As the ships moved
gently onward, other islands rose to sight, one after another, emerg-
ing as it were from the quiet ocean, covered with verdant forests,
while great flights of parrots, and other tropical birds were winging
their way from one to the other.

The crews were now assembled on the decks of the several vessels,
to return thanks to God for their prosperous voyage, and their hap-
py discovery of land, and the Salve Regina, and other anthems,
were chanted by the mariners throughout the armada. Such was
the pious manner in which Columbus celebrated all his discoveries,
and which, in fact, was generally observed by the Spanish and
Portuguese voyagers. It certainly presents a solemn and beautiful
picture to the mind; this congregation of ships, uniting as it were
in a Sabbath jubilee on the tranquil bosom of the deep, and send-
ing up swelling anthems of praise to heaven, for the fair land that
was rising to their view.

• Hist. Del Almirante, Cap. 45.

A similar mention is made of this nautical superstition in the voyage of Magel-
lan. " During these great storms they said that St. Elmo appeared at the top-
masts with a lighted candle, and sometimes with two, upon which the people shed
tears of joy, receiving great consolation, and saluted him according to the cus-
tom of mariners. He remained visible for a quarter of an hour, and then dis-
appeared with a great flash of lightning, whicli blinded the people." Herrera,
Decad. 2, L. 4, C. 10.

Chap. IL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 205

CHAPTER II.

TRANSACTIONS AT THE ISLAND OF GTTADALOUPE,

[1493.]

The islands among which Columbus had arrived, were a part of
that beautiful cluster called by some the Antilles, which sweep al-
most in a semicircle, from the eastern end of Porto Rico to the coast
of Paria, on the southern continent, forming a kind of barrier be-
tween the main ocean and the Caribbean sea.

During the course of the first day that he entered this archipelago,
Columbus saw no less than six islands of different magnitude,
clothed in that majestic vegetation peculiar to the tropics; and where-
ever the breeze passed over them, the whole air was sweetened by
the fragrance of their forests.

After seeking in vain for good anchorage at Dominica, he stood
for another of the group, to which he gave the name of his ship,
Marigalante. ■ Here he landed, displayed the royal banner, and
took possession of that and the adjacent islands in the name of his
sovereigns. There was no vestige of a human being to be seen;
the island appeared to be uninhabited ; a rich and dense forest over-
spread it ; some of the trees being in blossom, others laden with
unknown fruits, others possessing spicy odours; among which was
one with the leaf of the laurel, and the fragrance of the clove.

From hence they made sail for an island of larger size, with a
remarkable mountain, one peak of which rose to a great height,
with streams of water gushing from it, which proved afterwards to
be the crater of a volcano. As they approached within three
leagues, they beheld a great torrent tumbling over a precipice of such
immense height that, to use the words of the narrator, " it seemed
to be falling from the sky." As it broke into foam in its descent,
many at first believed it to be merely a stratum of white rock.* To
this island, which was called by the Indians Turuqueira,t the ad-
miral gave the name of Guadaloupe; having promised the monks

* Letter of Dr. Chanca.

t Idem. Peter Martyr calls it Carucueria, or Queraquiera, Decjjd. 1, Lib, S«

206 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VI.

of Our Lady of Guadaloupe, in Estremadura, to call some newly
discovered place after their convent.

Landing here on the 4th, they visited a village near the shore,
the inhabitants of which fled at the sight of them, some leaving
even their children behind in their terror and confusion. These the
Spaniards soothed with caresses, binding hawk's bells and other
trinkets round their arms, to win the good will of their parents.
This village, like most of those of the island, consisted of twenty
or thirty houses, built round a kind of public place or square. The
houses were constructed in similar style to those of Cuba and His-
paniola, of trunks of trees, interwoven with reeds and branches, and
thatched with palm leaves. They were square, not circular like
those of the other islands,* and each had its portico or shelter from
the sun. The entrance of one of these houses was decorated with
images of serpents tolerably carved in wood. Their furniture was
the same; hamacs of cotton net; utensils formed of calabashes, or
earthenware, equal to the best of those of Hispaniola. There were
large quantities of cotton, some of it crude, some in yarn, and some
wrought into cloth of very tolerable texture ; and many bows and
arrows, the latter tipped with sharp bones. Provisions seemed to
abound here. There were many domesticated geese, like those of
Europe, and parrots as large as household fowls, with blue, green,
white, and scarlet plumage, being the splendid species called Gua-
camayos. Here also the Spaniards first met with the delicious
anana or pineapple, the flavour and fragrance of which astonished
and delighted them. W^hile searching these houses, they were sur-
prised to find a pan or other utensil of iron ; not having ever met
with that metal in the New World. Fernando Colon supposes,
however, that it was formed of a certain kind of heavy stone found
among those islands, which when burnt has the appearance of
shining iron, and in their hasty survey may have been piistaken
for such ; though he admits that it might have been some utensil
brought by the Indians from Hispaniola. Certain it is, that no
native iron was ever found among the people of these islands.

Another object which was a matter of surprise and speculation,
was the sternpost of a vessel, which they found in one of the
houses. How had it reached these shores, which appeared never
to have been visited by the ships of civilized man ? Was it the
wreck of some vessel from the more enlightened countries of Asia,
which they supposed to lie somewhere in this direction? Or was
it part of the caravel which Columbus had lost at the island of

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 62.

Chap. ILJ CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 207

Hispaniola during his first voyage 1 Or was it some fragment of a
European ship which had drifted across the Atlantic ? The latter
was most probably the case. The constant current which sets
over from the coast of Africa, produced by the steady prevalence of
the trade winds, must occasionally bring the wrecks of the Old
World to the shores of the New; and long before the discovery of
Columbus, the simple savages of the islands and the coasts, may
have gazed with wonder at huge fragments of European barks,
which have perished in the opposite regions of the ocean, and have
gradually floated to their shores.

What most struck the attention of the Spaniards, and filled them
with horror, was the sight of various human bones, vestiges, as
they supposed, of the unnatural repasts of these savages. There
were also sculls suspended in the houses, which apparently were
used as vases,, and other household utensils. These dismal objects
convinced them that they were now at the abodes of the cannibals,
or Caribs ; those roving and ferocious warriors, whose predatory
expeditions and ruthless character rendered them the terror of
these seas.

The boat having returned on board, Columbus proceeded for up-
wards of two leagues, until late in the evening, when he anchored
in a convenient port. The island on this side extended for the dis-
tance of five and twenty leagues, diversified with lofty mountains
and broad plains. Along the coast were seen small villages and
hamlets, the inhabitants of which fled in affright as they beheld the
squadron sweeping along their shores. At day-break Columbus
permitted several of the captains to land, with a number of their
men, to endeavour to communicate with the inhabitants. These
divided into parties, and returned in the course of the day, having
taken a boy and several women, some of whom were natives of the
island, and others captives. From information gathered from the
latter, Columbus was confirmed in his idea that this was one of the
islands of the Caribs. He learnt that the inhabitants were in league
with two neighbouring islands, but that they made war upon all others
in their vicinity. They even went on predatory enterprises, in their
canoes made from the hollowed trunks of trees, to the distance of
one hundred and fifty leagues. Their arms were bows and arrows,
pointed with the bones of fishes, or shells of tortoises, and poisoned
with the juice of a certain herb. They made descents upon the
islands, ravaged the villages, carried off the youngest and hand-
somest of the women, whom they retained as servants or companions,
and made prisoners of the men, to be killed and eaten.

After hearing such formidable accounts of the natives of this

208 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP fBooK VI,

island, Columbus was extremely uneasy at finding m the evening
that a captain of one of the caravels, Diego Marque, was missing,
together with eight men. He had landed with his party early in
the morning, without leave, and straying into the woods, had not
since been seen or heard of. On the following day the wanderers
had not returned^ and the anxiety of the admiral increased, fearing
that they might have fallen into some ambush of the savages ; for
several of them were such experienced mariners, that it was thought,
in case of being lost, they could readily have found their way back
by the stars. Parties were sent in various directions in quest of
them, each with a trumpeter to sound calls and signals. Guns
were fired from the ships, and arquebusses on shore, but all to no
purpose, and the parties returned in the evening, wearied with a
fruitless search. They had visited several hamlets, in which they
met with what they considered proofs of the cannibal propensities
©f the natives^ and which were by no means calculated to allay
their apprehensions for the safety of their companions. Human
iimbs were suspended to the beams of the houses, as if curing for
provisions; they found the head of a young man recently killed,
which was yet bleeding ; some parts of his body were boiling with
the flesh of geese and parrots, and others were roasting before
the fire.*

Several of the natives, in the course of the day, had been seen
occasionally on the shore, gazing with wonder at the ships, but
when the boats approached the land, they fled to the woods or the
mountains. Several women came oflf to the Spaniards for refuge,
being captives who had been brought from other islands. Colujnbus
ordered that they should be decorated with hawks' bells and strings
of beads and bugles, and sent on shore, in hopes, by these means, to
entice some of the men of the island to visit him. They soon re-
turned to the boats stripped of their ornaments by the ferocious
islanders^ and imploring to be taken on board of the ships. The
admiral learnt from them that most of the men of the island were
absent, the king having sailed some time before with ten canoes and
three hundred warriors on a predatory cruise in quest of prisoners
and booty. When the men went forth on these expeditions the
women remained to defend their shores from invasion. They were
expert archers, partaking of the warrior spirit of their husbands, aoid
almost equalling them in force and intrepidity. f

Beside the female fugitives who had taken refuge on board of the

* P, Martyr, Letter 147, to Pomponio Laeto. Idem, Dec 1, Lib* 2»
+ Peter Martyr Decad» 3, Lib. 9.

Chap. II.} CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 209

ships there were several boys, who had been captives among the
natives, and reserved, it is said, for a cruel destiny. The Spaniards
were informed that it was the custom of the Caribs to rear these
youthful prisoners to man's estate, and then to fatten them for their
feasts, and that they even deprived them of their virility, to render
them more tender and palatable food.* There is something so
revolting to human nature in the idea of cannibalism, that we would
fain attribute these accounts to the mistakes, the misinterpretations,
and the fables of travellers, but they are too positively affirmed by
respectable writers, and are too curious in themselves to be passed
over in silence.

Columbus was now at a loss what course to adopt. He was
anxious to arrive at Hispaniola and ascertain the fate of the followers
whom he had left there ; and was impatient of any delay. Topsail
without these men, however, provided they were yet alive, would be
t-o abandon them to a cruel death at the hands of cannibals. To
leave a vessel and crew behind to await their return, would be to run
the risk of losing them by a thousand accidents on these wild coasts
and in these unexplored seas. In this emergency Alonzo de Ojeda,
the same daring young cavalier whose exploit on the tower of the
cathedral of Seville has been mentioned, volunteered to penetrate
with forty men into the interior of the island, and to search all the
forests for the wanderers. His offer was accepted, and the admiral
commanded that during his absence the ships should take in a supplj^
of wood and water; and gave permission for part of the crews to land,
to wash their clothes, and recreate themselves on shore,

Alonzo de Ojeda, with his followers,, beat up all the forests in
the neighbourhood, and marched far into the interior, discharging
arquebusses, sounding trumpets in the hollow valleys, and from the
cliffs of mountains and precipices; but it was all in vain; no voice
nor sound but their own echoes was heard in reply. Their search
was rendered excessively toilsome by the closeness of the forests,
which flourished with the vigorous, and wild luxuriance of the
tropics. Ojeda saw every thing with the romantic eye of a young
adventurer, and brought back the most exaggerated accounts of the
natural productions of the country. The forests were fill^ed with the
odour of aromatic trees and shrubs, in which he fancied he perceived
the fragrance of many precious gums and spices. He saw many
tropical birds of unknown species ; also falcons, royal herons, kites,
wood-pigeons, turtle-doves, and crows. He fancied also that he met
with partridges, which, in reality, were only to be found in the island
of Cuba ; and that he heard the song of the nightingale, which is

* Letter of Dr. Chanca. Pcler Martyr, Let. 147 . Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 46
Yoh, I. 14 cj o '^

210 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VI.

unknown in the new world. The island, however, abounded with
fruits; for, according to Peter Martyr, the cannibals being a wild
and wandering people, and overrunning all the neighbouring coun-
tries in their expeditions, were accustomed to bring home the seeds
and roots of all kinds of strange and profitable plants. As a proof
of itfe luxuriance, also, he observes, that honey was found in hollow
trees and in the clefts of the rocks. So abundantly was it watered,
that Ojeda declared he had waded through twenty -six rivers within
the distance of six leagues; though it is probable many of them were
the windings and doublings of the same stream.

Columbus now gave the stragglers up for lost. Several days had
elapsed since their disappearance, during which time, if alive, it
seemed impossible that they should not have either been found, or
have made their way back to the ships. He was just upon the point
of sailing when to the universal joy of the fleet, a signal was made
by them from the shore. When they came on board, their haggard
and exhausted looks bespoke what they had suffered. Having
unaccountably diverged on their first entering the forests, they had
unknowingly penetrated deeper and deeper into the island, until they
had become completely bewildered. For several days they had been
perplexed in the mazes of a trackless forest, so dense as almost t©
exclude the light of day. They had clambered rocks waded rivers,
and struggled through briars and thickets. Some, who were experi-
enced seamen, climbed the trees, in hopes of getting a sight of the
stars, by which they might govern their course; but the wide-spread-
ing branches, and thick foliage, shut out all view of the heavens.*
They were harassed with the most dismal apprehensions, fearing
that the admiral, thinking them dead, might set sail, and leave them
behind in this wilderness, cut oflf for ever from their homes, and the
abodes of civilized man. At length when almost reduced to despair,
they had arrived at the sea shore, and following its margin for some
lime, beheld, to their great transport, the fleet riding quietly at anchor.
They brought with them several Indian women and boys; but in all
their wanderings, they had not met with any men ; the greater part
of the warriors, as has been said, being fortunately absent on an
expedition.

Notwithstanding the hardships they had endured, and his joy at
their return, Columbus thought it important, in a service of so critical
a nature, to punish every breach of discipline. The captain was
therefore put under arrest, and a part of the rations of the men were
stopped, for having thus strayed away without permission.!

Dr. Chanca's Letter. t Idem. Hist, del Alrmrante, Cap. 4fi.

Chap. HI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 2X1

CHAPTER III.

CRUISE AMONG TH£ CARIBBEE ISLANDS.
[1493.]

Weighing anchor on the 10th of November, Columbus steered
along the coast of Guadaloupe, towards the northwest, in which
direction, according to his own calculations, and the information
of the Indians, lay Hispaniola. The women whom he had recently
taken on board, had given him intelligence of other islands to the
south and had assured him that the main land extended in that
quarter ; information which he afterwards found to be true, but at pre-
sent his impatience to arrive at the harbour of Nativity prevented his
extending his discoveries.

Continuing along this beautiful archipelago, he ga'^e names to its
islands as they successively rose to view. Montserrat, Santa Maria
m la Redonda, Santa Maria la Antigua, and San Martin; various other
g^i islands appeared to the north, and extending northwest and southeast,
all very lofty and mountainous with stately and magnificent forests,
but the admiral forebore to visit them. The weather proving bolster^
ous, they anchored on the 14th November, at an island called Ayay by
the Indians, but to which the admiral gave the name of Santa Cruz.
Here the boat was sent on shore, with five and twenty men, to get
water and procure information concerning their route. They found
a village deserted by the men, but they secured a few women and
boys, most of whom were captives brought hither from other islands;
for this was likewise an abode of the Caribs. They had soon an
instance of the courage and ferocity of this singular race. While the
boat was on shore, a canoe with a few Indians, two of whom were
females, came coasting from a distant part of the island, and turning
a point of land arrived suddenly in full view of the ships. Asto-
nished at what to them must have been so awful and supernatural an
apparition, they remained for a long time gazing in mute amaze-

tment. So completely were they entranced in contemplation, that
the boat, returning from the shore, had stolen close upon them before
they perceived it. Seizing their paddles, they now attempted to
escape ; but though their light canoe skimmed the surface of the
waves, the steady sweep of the oar gained upon them, and the boat,

212 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VI

being between tnem and the land, cut off their retreat. Seeing flight
was vain, they caught up their bows and arrows, and turned fiercely
upon their pursuers. The women fought as well as the men. One
of them appeared to be treated with obedience and reverence, as if she
were their queen. She was accompanied by her son, "a young
man," says Peter Martyr, " strongly made, of a terrible and frown-
ing brow, and a lion's face."* They plied their bows with amazing
vigour and rapidity. Although the Spaniards were covered with
their bucklers, two of them were quickly wounded; and an arrow
was sent with such force by one of the heroines, as to pass through
and through a buckler.

To avoid this galling fire, which was rendered more formidable
from an apprehension that the arrows might be poisoned, the Span-
iards ran their boat violently upon the canoe, and overturned it.
The fierce savages, however, continued to fight while in the water ;
gathering themselves occasionally upon sunken rocks, and discharg-
ing their arrows as dexterously as though they had been upon firm
land. It was with the utmost difficulty they could be overcome and
taken. One of them was transfixed with a lance, so that he died after
being brought to the ships, and the queen's son was wounded.
When on board, the Spaniards could not but wonder at their un-
tamed spirit and fierce demeanour. Their hair was long and coarse,
their eyes encircled with paint so as to give them a hideous expres-
sion ; they had bands of cotton bound firmly above and below the
muscular parts of the arms and legs, so as to cause them to swell to
a disproportioned size, which was regarded by them as a great
beauty, a custom which prevailed among various tribes of the New
World. Though captives, in chains, and in the power of their ene-
mies, they still retained a frowning brow, and an air of defiance.
Peter Martyr, who often went to see them when in Spain, declares,
from his own experience, and that of others who accompanied him,
that it was impossible to look at them without a certain inward sen-
sation of horror , nature having endowed them with so menacing
and terrible an aspect. This sensation was doubtless caused in a
great measure from the idea of their being cannibals. In this skir-
mish, according to the same writer, the Indians used poisoned ar-
rows; and one of the Spaniards died within a few days, of a wound
he had received from a female warrior. f

Pursuing his voyage, Columbus soon came in sight of a great
cluster of islands of various shapes and appearances. Some were

i * P. Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 2.

t P. Martyr, Decad, 1, L. 2. Hist, del Almirante, C. 47. Las Casas, Hist. Ind.
C. 85, MS. Let. of Dr. Chanca.

Chap. IH.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 213

verdarnt and covered with forests, but the greater part naked and
sterile, rising into wild cragged mountains ; many of the rocks of
which were of a bright azure colour, and others of a glistering
white; these Columbus, with his usual vivacity of imagination, sup-
posed to contain mines of rich metals and precious stents. The
islands lying close together, with the sea beating and tossing roughly
in the narrow channels which divided them, rendered it dangerous
to enter among them with the large ships. Keeping off] therefore,
in the broad sea, Columbus sent in a small caravel with latine sails,
to reconnoitre, which returned with the report that there were up-
wards of fifty islands, but apparently uninhabited. To the largest
of this group Columbus gave the name of Santa Ursula, and he
called the others the Eleven Thousand Virgins.*

Deferring the examination of them to some future time, he con-
tmued his course, until he arrived one evening in sight of a great
island, covered with beautiful forests, and indented with fine havens.
It was called by the natives Boriquen ; but he gave it the name of
St. Juan Bautista, and it is the same since known by the name of
Porto Rico. This was the native island of most of the captives, who
had fled to the ships for refuge from the Caribs. According to their
accounts, it was fertile and populous, and under the dominion of a
single cacique. Its inhabitants were not given to rove, and possessed
but few canoes. They were subject to frequent invasions from the
Caribs, who were their implacable enemies. They had become
warriors, therefore, in their own defence, using the bow and arrow,
and the war club ; and in their contests with their cannibal foes,
they retorted upon them their own atrocities, devouring their prison-
ers in revenge.

After running for a whole day along the beautiful coast of this
island, they anchored in a bay at the west end, which abounded
with fish. On landing, they found an Indian village, situated as
usual, round a common square, like a market-place, with one large
and well built house. From hence a spacious road led to the sea-
side, having fences on each side of interwoven reeds, inclosing fruit-
ful gardens. At the end of the road was a kind of terrace, or look-
out, constructed of reeds, and overhanging the water. The whole
place had an air of neatness and ingenuity, superior to the ordinary
residences of the natives, and appeared to be the abode of some im-
portant chieftain. All, however, was silent and deserted. Not a
human being was to be seen during the time that they remained at
the place. The natives had fled and concealed themselves, at the

* f. Martyr, Decad. 1, L. 2. Letter of Dr. Chanca.

216 UPE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VL^

CHAPTER IV.

JJIRXVAL AT THE HARBOUR OF LA NAVIDAD — DISASTER 07 THE

FORTRESS.

[ 1493. ]

On the 22d of November the fleet arrived oflf the end of a great
island, and soon ascertained it to be the eastern extremity of Hayti,
or, as the admiral had named it, Hispaniola. The greatest anima-
tion prevailed throughout the armada, at the thoughts of soon
aniving at the end of their voyage. Columbus anticipated the joy
of the handful of bold spirits which he had left in the wilderness,
and looked for inestimable information from them, relative to the
island and its surrounding seas ; if not for heaps of amassed treasure.
Those of his followers who had been here in the preceding voyage,
remembered the pleasant days they had passed among the blooming
groves of Hayti; and the rest looked forward with eagerness to
scenes and manners which had been painted to them with all the
captivating illusions of the golden age.

As the fleet swept gently with easy sail along the green shore, a boat
was sent to land to bury a Biscayan sailor, who had died of the wound
of an arrow, which he had received in the skirmish with the Caribs.
Two light caravels hovered near the shore, to guard the boat's crew
while the funeral ceremony was performed on the beach under the
trees. Several of the natives came off to the ship, with a message
to the admiral from the cacique of the neighbourhood, inviting him
to land, and promising great quantities of gold ; anxious, however,
to arrive at La Navidad, Columbus declined the invitation, dismissed
them with presents, and continued on his couise. *After sailing for
a considerable distance, he came to the gulf of Las Flechas, or, as it
is now called, the gulf of Samana, the same place where in his pre-
ceding voyage had occurred the skirmish with the natives. Here
he set on shore one of the young Indians of the place, who had
accompanied him to Spain, and had been converted to Christianity,
He dismissed him, finely apparelled, and loaded with trinkets, anti-
cipating favourable effects from his representing to his countrymen
all the wonders that he had seen, and the kind treatment he had
experienced. The young Indian made many promises of friendly

Chap. IV.J CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 217

exertions, but he either forgot them all, on regaining his wild liberty
and his native mountains, or he fell a victim to the envy caused by
his wealth and finery. Nothing was seen or heard of him more.*
Only one Indian of those who had been to Spain now remained in
the fleet; a young Lucayan native of the island of Guanahani, who
had been baptised at Barcelona, and had been named after the ad
miral's brother, Diego Colon. He continued always faithful and
devoted to the Spaniards.

On the 25th Columbus anchored in the harbour of Monte Christi ;
anxious to fix upon a place suitable for a settlement in the neigh-
bourhood of the stream to which, in his first voyage, he had given
the name of the Rio del Oro, or the Golden River. As several of
the mariners were ranging the coast, they found, on the green and
moist banks of a rivulet, the bodies of a man and boy; the former
with a cord of Spanish grass about his neck, and his arms extended,
and tied by the wrists to a stake in the form of a cross. The bodies
were in such a state of decay, that it was impossible to ascertain
whether they were Indian or European. Sinister doubts, however,
were entertained, which were confirmed on the following day; for,
on revisiting the shore, they found, at some distance from the former,
two other bodies, one of which having a beard, was evidently the
corpse of a white man.

The pleasant anticipations of Columbus on his approach to La
Navidad, were now overcast with gloomy forebodings. The ex-
perience he had recently had of the ferocity of some of the inhabit-
ants of these islands, made him doubtful of the amity of others, and
he began to fear that some misfortune might have befallen Arana
and his garrison. The frank and fearless manner, however, in
which a number of the natives came oflf to the ships, and their un-
embarrassed demeanour, in some measure allayed his suspicions ; for
it did not appear probable that they would have ventured thus confi-
dently among the white men, with the consciousness of having re-
cently shed the blood of their companions.

On the 27th he arrived in the evening opposite the harbour of La
Navidad, and cast anchor about a league from the land, not daring to
enter in the dark, on account of the dangerous reefs. It was too
late in the night to distinguish objects. Impatient to satisfy his
doubts, therefore, he ordered two cannon to be fired. The report
echoed along the shore, but there was no reply from the fort. Every
eye was now directed to catch the gleam of some signal light;
every ear hstened to hear some friendly shout; but there was neither

* Herrera, Hist. Ind Decad 1, Lib. 2, Cap. 9.

218 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VL

light, nor shout, nor any other sign of life : all was darkness and
death-like silence.*

Several hours passed away in the most dismal suspense. A
thousand disastrous pictures presented themselves of the fate of their
companions, and every one longed for the morning light to put an
end to his uncertainty. About midnight a canoe was observed ap-
proaching the fleet ; when within a certain distance it paused, and
the Indians who were in it hailing one of the vessels, asked for the
admiral. When directed to his ship, they drew near to it, but would
not venture on board until they saw Columbus personally. He
showed himself at the side of his vessel, and a light being held up,
his countenance and commanding person were not to be mistaken.
They now entered the ship without hesitation. One of them was a
cousin of the cacique Guacanagari, and brought a present from him
of two masks ornamented with gold. Columbus immediately in-
quired about the Spaniards who had remained on the island. The
information which the native gave was somewhat confused, or per-
haps was imperfectly understood, as the only Indian interpreter
on board was the young Lucayan, Diego Colon, whose native lan-
guage was different from that of Hayti. He told Columbus that
several of the Spaniards had died of sickness; others had fallen in a
quarrel which had occ urred among themselves, and others had re
moved to a diflferent part of the island, where they had taken to them-
selves several Indian wives. That Guacanagari had been assailed
by Caonabo, the fierce cacique of the golden mountains of Cibao,
who had wounded him in battle, and had burnt his village; and that
he remained ill of his wound in a neighbouring hamlet, which had
prevented his hastening in person to welcome the admiral on his
return, t

Melancholy as were these tidings, they relieved Columbus from a
dark and dismal surmise. Whatever disasters had overwhelmed his
garrison, it had not fallen a sacrifice to the perfidy of the natives; his
good opinion of the gentleness and kindness of these people had not
been misplaced ; nor had their cacique forfeited the admiration in-
spired by his benevolent hospitality. Thus the most corroding care
was dismissed from his mind; for to a generous spirit there is nothing
BO disheartening as to discover treachery where it has reposed its
confidence and friendship. It would seem also that some of the
garrison were yet alive, though scattered about the island; they
would doubtless soon hear of the arrival of the ships, and would

* Letter of Dr. Chanca. Navarrete, CoUec. de Viage, T. 1.
t Dr. Chanca's letter. Hist, del Almirante, C. 48. Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad
', Lib. 2, Cap. 9.

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 219

hasten to rejoin them, well quaUfied to give information of tho
interior.

Satisfied of the friendly disposition of the natives, the cheerfulness
of the crews was in a great measure restored. The Indians who
liad come on board were well entertained, and departed in the night,
gratified with various presents, promising to return in the morning
with the cacique Guacanagari. The crews now awaited the dawn
of day with reassured spirits, when it was expected that the cordial
intercourse and pleasant scenes of the first voyage would be re-
newed.

The morning dawned and passed away and the day advanced
and began to decline, without the promised visit from the cacique.
Some apprehensions were now entertained that the Indians who had
visited them the preceding night might be drowned, as they had par-
taken freely of wine, and their small canoe was easy to be overset.
There was a silence, however, and an air of desertion, about the
whole neighbourhood, extremely suspicious. On their preceding
voyage, the harbour had been a scene of continual animation;
canoes gliding over the clear waters, Indians in groups on the
shores, or under the trees, or swimming off to the caravel. Now
not a canoe was to be seen, not an Indian hailed them from the
land ; nor was there any smoke rising from among the groves, to
give a sign of habitation.

After waiting for a long time in vain, Columbus sent a boat to the
shore to reconnoitre. On landing, the crew hastened to the place
where the fortress had been erected. They found it a burnt ruin ;
the pallisadoes beaten down, and the whole presenting the appear-
ance of having beens acked and destroyed. Here and there were
broken chests, spoiled provisions, and the ragged remains of Euro-
pean garments; which gave dismal indications of the fate of their
companions. Not an Indian approached them. They caught
sight of two or three lurking at a distance among the trees, anU
apparently watching them ; but they vanished into the woods on
finding themselves observed. Meeting no one from whom they
could obtain an explanation of the melancholy scene before them,
they returned with dejected hearts to the ships, and related to the
admiral what they had seen.

Columbus was greatly troubled in mind at this intelligence, and
the fleet having now anchored in the harbour, he went himself to
shore on the following morning. Repairing to the ruins of the for-
tress, he found every thing as had been described, and searched in
vain for the remains of dead bodies. No traces of the garrison
were to be seen, but the broken utensils and torn vestments, scattered

220 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF (Book VI.

here and there among^ the grass. There were many sDrmises and
conjectures. If the fortress had been sacked, some of the garrison
might yet survive, and might either have fled from the neighbour
hood, or been carried into captivity. Cannon and arquebusses were
discharged, in hopes that if any of the survivers were hid among
rocks or thickets in the vicinity, they might hear them and come
forth ; but no one made his appearance. A mournful and hfeless
silence reigned over the place. The suspicion of treachery on the
part of Guacanagari was again revived, but Columbus was unwill-
ing to indulge it. On looking further, the village of that cacique
was found a mere heap of burnt ruins, which showed that he had
been involved in the same disaster with the garrison.

Columbus had left orders with Arana and the other oflicers, to
bury all the treasures they might procure, or^ in case of sudden dan-
ger, to throw it into the well of the fortress. He ordered excavations
to be made, therefore, among the ruins, and the well to be cleared
©ut. While this search was making, he proceeded with the boats
to explore the neighbourhood •,, partly in hopes of gaining intelligence
of any scattered survivers of the garrison, and partly to look out fox
a better situation for a fortress. After proceeding about a league;
he came to a hamlet, the inhabitants of which had fled, taking with
them whatever they could carry, and hiding the rest in the grass
In the houses were found European articles, which evidently had
not been procured by barter ; such as stockings, pieces of cloth, an
anchor of the caravel which had been wrecked, and a beautiful
Moorish robe, which remained folded in the form in which it had
been brought from Spain.*

Having passed some time in contemplating these scattered docu-
ments of a disastrous story, Columbus returned to the ruins of the
fortress. The excavations and the search in the well had proved
fruitless ; no treasure was to be foitnd. Not far from the fort, how-
ever, they had discovered the bodies of eleven men, buried in different
places, and which were known, by their clothing, to be Europeans.
They had evidently been for some time in the ground^ the grass hav-
ing grown upon their graves.

In the course of the day a number of the Indians began to make
their appearance, hovering timidly at a distance, and showing great
distrust. Their apprehensions were gradually conquered by amica-
ble signs and trifling presents, until at length they became perfectly
communicative. Some of them could speak a few words of Span-
ish, and knew the names of all the men who had remained with

* Letter of Dr. Chanca, Cura de loa Palacios^ C. 120.

I

Chap. IY.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS- 221

Arana ; by this means, and by the aid of the interpreter, the story
of the garrison was in some measure ascertained.

It is curious to note this first foot print of civilization in the new
world. Those whom Columbus had left behind, says Oviedo, with
the exception of the commander, Don Diego de Arana, and one or
two others, were but little calculated to follow the precepts of so
prudent a person, or to discharge the critical duties enjoined upon
them. They were principally men of the lowest order, or mariners
who knew not how to conduct themselves with restraint and sobriety
on shore.* No sooner had the departing sail of the admiral faded
from their sight, than all his counsels and commands died away from
their minds. Though a mere handful of men, surrounded by savage
tribes, and dependent upon their own prudence and good conduct,
and upon the good will of the natives, for very existence, yet they
soon began to indulge in the most wanton abuses. Some were
incited by rapacious avarice, and, in their eagerness to amass pri-
vate hoards of wealth, possessed themselves, by all kinds of wrongful
means, of the golden ornaments and other valuable property of
the natives. Others sinned through gross sensuality. Two or three
wives had been allotted to each by the cacique Guacanagari, yet,
not content with this liberal allowance, they invaded the domestic
tranquillity of the Indians, and seduced from them their v/ives and
daughters. Fierce brawls incessantly occurred among themselves
about their ill-gotten spoils, or the favours Qf the Indian beauties ;
and the simple natives beheld with astonishment the beings whom
they had worshipped as descended from the skies, abandoned to the
grossest of earthly passions, and raging against each other with
worse than brutal ferocity.

Still these dissensions might not have been very dangerous had
they observed one of the grand injunctions of Columbus, and
kept together in the fortress, maintaining military vigilance ; but all
precaution of the kind was soon forgotten. In vain did Don Diego
de Arana interpose his authority; in vain did every inducement pre-
sent itself which could hind man and man together in a foreign
land. All order, all subordination, all unanimity, was at an end.
Many of them abandoned the fortress, and lived carelessly and at
random about the neighbourhood; every one was for himself, or
associated with some little knot of confederates to injure and despoil
the rest. Thus factions broke out among them, until ambition arose
to complete the destruction of their mimic empire. The two per-
sons, Pedro Gutierrez and Rodrigo de Escobedo, whom Columbus
had left as Heutenants to the commander, to succeed to him in case

* Oviedo, Hist. Ind. L. 2, C. 12. rp 2

222 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VI.

of accident, now took advantage of these disorders and aspired to
an equal share in the authority, if not to the supreme control.*
Violent affrays succeeded, in which a Spaniard by the name of
Jacomo was killed. Having failed in their object, Gutierrez and
Escobedo withdrew from the fortress, with nine of their adherents,
and a number of their women ; and, still bent on command, now
turned their thoughts on distant enterprise. Having heard mar-
vellous accounts of the mines of Cibao, and the golden sands of its
mountain rivers, they set off for that district, flushed with the
thoughts of amassing immense treasure. Thus they disregarded
another strong injunction of Columbus, which was to keep within
the friendly teriitories of Guacanagari. The region to which they
repaired was in the interior of the island, within the province of
Maguana, ruled by the famous Caonabo, called by the Spaniards
the Lord of the Golden House. This renowned chieftain was a
Carib by birth, possessing the fierceness and the enterprise of his
nation. He had come an adventurer to the island, and had acquired
such ascendancy over these simple and unwarlike people by his
courage and address, that he had made himself the most potent of
their caciques. His warlike exploits were renowned throughout
the island, and the mhabitants universally stood in awe of him for
his Carib origin.

Caonabo had for some time maintained paramount importance in
the island ; he was the hero of this savage world, when the ships of
the white men suddenly appeared upon its shores. The wonderful
accounts of their power and prowess had reached him among his
mountains, and he had the shrewdness to perceive that his own
consequence must decline before such formidable intruders. The
departure of Columbus had revived his hopes that their intrusion
would be but temporary. The discords and excesses of those who
remained, while they moved his detestation, inspired him with
increasing confidence. No sooner, therefore, did Gutierrez and
Escobedo. with their companions, take refuge in his dominions,
than he considered himself secure of a triumph over these detested
strangers. He seized upon the fugitives and put them instantly to
death. He then assembled his subjects privately ; and, concerting
his plans with the cacique of Marien, whose territories adjoined those
of Guacanagari on the west, he determined to make a sudden attack
upon the fortress. Emerging from among the mountains, and tra-
versmg great tracts of forests with profound secrecy, he arrived with
his army in the vicinity of the village, without being discovered.

* OTiedo, Hist. Ind. L. 2, C. 12.

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 223

Confiding in the gentle and pacific nature of the Indians, the Span-
iards had neglected all military precau*ions, and lived in the most
careless security. But ten men remained in the fortress with Arana,
and these do not appear to have maintained any guard. The rest
were quartered in houses in the neighbourhood. In the dead of the
night, when all were wrapt in unsuspecting repose, Caonabo and
his warriors burst upon the place with frightful yells ] got possession
of the fortress before the inmates could put themselves upon their
defence, and surrounded and set fire to the houses in which the rest
of the white men were sleeping. The Spaniards were completely
taken by surprise. Eight of them fled to the sea side, pursued by
the savages, and rushing into the waves for safety, were drowned;
the rest were massacred. Guacanagari and his subjects fought
faithfully in defence of their guests ; but not being of a warlike cha-
racter, they were easily routed ; Guacanagari was wounded in the
combat by the hand of Caonabo, and his village was burnt to the
ground.*

Such was the history of the first European establishment in the
New World. It presents, in a diminutive compass, an epitome of
the gross vices which degrade civilization, and the grand political
errors which sometimes subvert the mightiest empires. All law
and order being relaxed by corruption and licentiousness, public
good was sacrificed to private interest and passion, the community
was convulsed by divers factions and dissensions, until the whole
was shaken asunder by two aspiring demagogues, ambitious of the
command of a petty fortress in a wilderness, and the supreme con-
trol of eight and thirty men

* Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, Lib. 2, C. 9. Letter of Dr. Chanca PetOT
Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 2. Hist, del Almirante, C. 49. Cura de los Palacios, 0.
120. MS. Muiioz, Hist. N. Mundo, L. 4.

224 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VI.

CHAPTER V.

transactions with the natives — suspicious conduct of
ouac'anagari.

[1493.]

The tragical story of the fortress, as gathered from the Indians at '
the harbour, received confirmation from another quarter. One of
the captains, Melchor Maldonado, was dispatched along the coast
to the east, in his caravel, to look out for some more favourable situa-
tion for a settlement. He had scarcely proceeded three leagues,
when a canoe came off from the shore, in which were two Indians,
One of them, the brother of Guacanagari, entreated him, in the name
of the cacique, to come to land and visit him at the village where
he lay ill. Maldonado immediately went to shore with two or three
of his companions. They found Guacanagari confined by lame-
ness to his hammock, surrounded by seven of his wives. The ca-
cique expressed great regret at not being able to visit the admiral,
whom he was extremely desirous to see. He related various parti-
culars concerning the disasters of the garrison, and the part which
he and his subjects had taken in its defence, showing his leg bound
up from a wound which he had received. His story agreed with
that already related. After treating the Spaniards with his accus-
tomed respect and hospitality, he gave each of them at parting a
present of some golden ornament.

On the following morning, Columbus repaired in person to visit
the cacique. To impress him with a superior idea of his present
power and importance, he appeared with a numerous train of his
principal officers, all richly dressed, or in glittering armour. They
found Guacanagari reclining on a hammock of cotton net. He
exhibited great emotion on beholding the admiral, and immediately
adverted to the death of the Spaniards. As he related the disasters
of the garrison he shed many tears, but dwelt particularly on the
part he had taken in the defence of his guests, pointing out several
of his subjects present who had received wounds in the battle. On
regarding their scars, it was evident that the wounds had been re-
ceived from Indian weapons.

Columbus was readily satisfied of the good faith of Guacanagari.

I

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 225

When he reflected on the many proofs of an open and generous
na4;ure which he had given at the time of his shipwreck, he could
not believe him capable of so dark an act of perfidy. An exchange
of presents now took place. The cacique gave him eight hundred
beads of a certain stone called ciba, which they considered highly
precious, and one hundred of gold, a golden coronet, and three small
calabashes filled with gold dust; and thought himself outdone in
munificence when presented with a number of glass beads, hawks'
bells, knives, pins and needles, small mirrors, and ornaments of cop-
per, which metal he seemed to prefer to gold.*

The wound from which Guacanagari suffered was in the leg,
which had been violently bruised by a stone. At the request
of Columbus, he permitted it to be examined by a surgeon who was
present. On removing the bandages no signs of a wound were to be
seen, although he shrunk with pain whenever the limb was handled.!
As some time had elapsed since the battle, the external bruise might
have disappeared, while a tenderness remained in the part. Several
present, however, who had not been in the first voyage, and had
witnessed nothing of the generous conduct of the cacique, looked
upon his lameness as feigned, and the whole story of the battle a
fabrication, to conceal his real perfidy. Father Boyle especially,
who was a friar of vindictive spirit advised the admiral to make an
immediate example of the chieftain. Columbus, however, viewed
the matter in a different light. Whatever prepossessions he might
have, were in favour of the cacique; his heart refused to believe in
his criminaUty. Though conscious of innocence, Guacanagari
might have feared the suspicions of the white men, and have exag-
gerated the effects of his wound; but the wounds of his subjects,
made by Indian weapons, and the destruction of hig village were
strong proofs to Columbus of the truth of his story. To satisfy his
more suspicious followers, and to pacify the friar, without gratify-
ing his love for persecution, he observed that true policy dictated
amicable conduct towards Guacanagari, at least until his guilt was
fully ascertained. They had too great a force at present to appre-
hend any thing from his hostility, but violent measures, in this early
stage of their intercourse with the natives, might spread a general
panic, and impede all their operations in the island. Most of his
officers concurred in this opinion; so it was determined, notwitstand-
Ing the inquisitorial suggestions of the friar, to take the story of the
Indians for current truth, and to continue to treat them with friendship,

* Letter of Dr. Chanca. Navarrete, Collec. T. 1.

t Letter of Dr. Chanca. Navarrete, Collec. T. 1. Cura de Los Palacios, Cap. 120L

Vol. I. 15

Zti LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VI.

sight of the squadron. After remaining here for two days, Colum-
bus again made sail, and stood for the island of Hispaniola. Thus
ended his cruise among the Caribbee islands ; the account of whose
fierce and. savage people was received with eager curiosity by the
learned of Europe, and considered as settling one dark and doubtful
question, to the disadvantage of human nature. Peter Martyr, in
his letter to Pomponius Laetus, announces the fact with fearful so-
lemnity. " The stories of the Listrigonians and of Polyphemus,
who fed on human flesh, are no longer doubtful I Attend, but be-
ware, lest thy hair bristle with horror !"

That many of the pictures given us of this extraordinary race of
people have been coloured by the fears of the Indians, and the preju-
dices of the Spaniards, is highly probable. They were the constant
terror of the former, and the brave and obstinate opponents of the lat-
ter. The evidences adduced of their cannibal propensities must be
considered with large allowances for the careless and inaccurate ob-
servations of seafaring men, and the preconceived belief of the fact
which existed in the minds of the Spaniards. It was a custom
among the natives of many of the islands, and of other parts of the
New World, to preserve the remains of their deceased relatives and
friends; sometimes the entire body, sometimes only the head, or some
of the limbs, dried at the fire ; sometimes the mere bones. These,
when found in the dwellings of the natives of Hispaniola, against
whom no prejudice of the kind existed, were correctly regarded as
reliquesof the deceased, preserved through aflfection or reverence;
but any remains of the kind found among the Caribs were looked
upon with horror, as proofs of cannibali'sm.

The warlike and unyielding character of these people, so different
from that of the pusillanimous nations around them, and the wide
scojie of their enterprises and wanderings, like those of the nomade
tribes of the Old World, entitle them to distinguished attention.
They were trained to war from their infancy. As soon as they
could walk, their amazonian mothers put in their hands the bow
and arrow, and prepared them to take an early part in the hardy
enterprises of their fathers. Their distant roamings by sea had
made them observant and intelligent. The natives of the other
islands only knew how to divide time by day and night, by the sun
and moon, whereas these had acquired some knowledge of the stan^
by which to calculate the times and seasons.*

The traditional accounts of their origin, though of course ex-
tremely vague, are yet capable of being verified to a great degree by

♦ Hiat. del Almirante, Cap. 9%.

Chap. III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 215

geographical facts, and open one of the rich veins of curious inquiry
and speculation which abound in the New World. They are said
to have migrated from the remote valleys embosomed in the Apala-
chian mountains. The earliest notices we have of them represent
them with weapons in their hands ; continually engaged in wars ;
winning their way and shifting their abode, until in the course of
time they found themselves on the extreme end of Florida. Here,
abandoning the northern continent, they passed over to the Lucayos,
and from thence gradually, in the process of years, from island to
island of that vast and verdant chain, which links as it were the end
of Florida to the coast of Paria, on the southern continent. The
Archipelago, extending from Porto Rico to Tobago, was their strong
hold, and the island of Guadaloupe in a manner their citadel.
Hence they made their expeditions, and spread the terror of their
name through all the surrounding countries. Swarms of them
landed upon the southern continent, and overran some parts of Terra
Firma. Traces of them have been discovered far in the interior of
the country through which flows the Oroonoko. The Dutch found
colonies of them on the banks of the Ikouteka, which empties into
the Surinam, along the Esquibi, the Maroni, and other rivers of
Guayana, and in the country watered by the windings of the Cay-
enne ; and it would appear, that they have even extended their
wanderings to the shores of the southern ocean ; where, among the
aborigines of Brazil, were some who called themselves Caribs, dis-
tinguished from the surrounding Indians by their superior hardihood,
subtilty, and enterprise.*

To trace the footsteps of this roving tribe throughout its wide mi-
grations from the Apalachian mountains of the northern continent,
along the clusters of islands which stud the gulf of Mexico and the
Caribbean sea to the shores of Paria, and so across the vast regions
of Guayana and Amazonia to the remote coast of Brazil, would
be one of the most curious researches in aboriginal history, and
might throw much light upon the mysterious question of the popu-
lation of the New World.

Roterdam, 1665.

226 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VI.

At the invitation of Columbus, the Qacique, though still appa-
rently in pain from his wound,* accompanied him to the ships that
very evening. He had wondered at the power and grandeur of
the white men when they first visited his shores with two small cara-
vels; but his wonder was infinitely increased on beholding a fleet
riding at anchor in the harbour, and on going on board of the admi-
ral's ship, which was a vessel of heavy burthen. Here he beheld a
number of Caribs, who had been taken prisoners in the course of the
voyage. So great was the dread of the timid inhabitants of Hayti
for these fierce barbarians, that they contemplated them with fear and
shuddering even though in chains, and turned with averted counte-
nances from their frowning aspects, f That the admiral had dared
to invade these terrible beings in their very islands, and had drag-
ged them, as it were from their strong holds, was perhaps one of the
greatest proofs to Guacanagari of the irresistible prowess of the
white men.

Columbus took the cacique through the ship, and on every side he
beheld new wonders. The various works of art, and the unknown
productions of nature; the plants and fruits of the old world; do-
mestic fowls of different kinds, cattle, sheep, swine and other ani-
mals brought to stock the island, all struck him with astonishment'
but what most filled him with amazement was the sight of the horses.
He had never seen any but the most diminutive quadrupeds, and was
struck with admiration at the grandeur of these noble animals, their
great strength, terrific appearance, yet perfect docility. J He looked
upon all these extraordinary objects as so many wonders brought
from heaven, which he still believed to be the native home of the
white men.

On board of the ship were ten of the women delivered from cap-
tivity among the Caribs. They were chiefly natives of the island
of Boriquen, or Porto Rico. These soon attracted the notice of the
cacique, who is represented to have been of an amorous complexion.
He entered into conversation with them; for though these islanders
spoke different languages, or rather as is more probable, different
dialects of the same language, they were able in general to under-
stand each other. Among these women was one distinguished
above her companions by a certain loftiness of air and manner.
She had been much noticed and admired by the Spaniards, who
had given her the name of Catalina. The cacique spoke to her
repeatedly with great gentleness of tone and manner, pity in all

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 49. t Peter Martyr, Letter 153, to Ponipomua
Leetus. t Hist, del Almirante, ubi sup. Letter of Dr. Chanca.

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 227

probability being mingled with his admiration; for though rescued
from the hands of the Caribs, she and her companions were in a
manner captives on board of the ship.

A collation was now spread before the chieftain, and Columbus
endeavoured in every way to revive their former cordial intercourse.
He treated his guest with every manifestation of perfect confidence,
and talked of coming to live with him in his present residence, and
of building houses in the vicinity. The cacique expressed much
satisfaction at the idea, but observed that the situation of the place
was unhealthy, which was indeed the case. Notwithstanding every
demonstration of friendship, however, the cacique was evidently ill
at ease. The charm of mutual confidence was broken. It was evi-
dent that the gross licentiousness of the garrison had greatly im-
paired the veneration of the Indians for their heaven-born visiters.
Even the reverence for the symbols of the Christian faith, which
Columbus endeavoured to inculcate as a grand means of civilization,
was completely prostrated by the profligacy of its votaries. Though
fond of ornaments, it was with the greatest difficulty the cacique
could be prevailed upon by the admiral to suspend an image of the
Virgin about his neck, when he understood it to be an object of
Christian adoration.*

The suspicions of the chieftain's guilt continued to gain ground
with manj'- of the Spaniards. Father Boyle in particular, regarded
him with an evil eye, and privately advised the admiral, now that
he had him securely on board of his ship, to detain him prisoner ;
but Columbus rejected the counsel of the crafty friar, as contrary to
sound policy and honourable faith. It is difficult, however, to con-
ceal lurking ill will ; the heart will speak in the countenance, even
though the tongue be mute. The cacique, accustomed, in his for-
mer intercouse with the Spaniards, to meet on every side with faces
beaming with gratitude and friendship, could not but perceive the
altered looks of cold suspicion, and secret hostility. Notwithstand-
ing the frank and cordial hospitality of the admiral, therefore, he
soon begged permission to return to land.f

The next morning, there was an appearance of mysterious move-
ment and agitation among the natives on shore. Of this the Span
iards could not ascertain the cause; as there was no longer that con-
stant and unreserved communication between them, which former-,
ly prevailed. A messenger from the cacique inquired of the admi-
ral how long he intended to remain at the harbour, and was inform-
ed that he should sail on the following day. In the evening the

* Hist del Alrairante, Cap. 49. f Peter Martyr, Decad, 1, Lib. 2.

228 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VI

brother of Guacanagari came on board, under pretext of bartering
a quantity of gold. He was observed to converse in private with
the Indian women, and particularly with Catalina, the one whose
distinguished appearance had attracted the attention of Guacana-
gari. After remaining some time on board, he returned to the shore.
It would seem, from subsequent events, that the "warm heart of the
cacique had been touched by the situation of this Indian beauty,
and captivated by her charms, and that, with a kind of native
gallantry, he had undertaken to deliver her from bondage.

At midnight, when the crew were buried in their first sleep, the
intrepid Catalina awakened her companions, and proposed a bold
attempt to regain their liberty. The ship was anchored full three
miles from the shore, and the sea was rough ; but these island women
were accustomed to buffet with the waves, and to consider the water
almost as their natural element. Letting themselves down from the
side of the vessel with great caution and silence, they committed
themselves to the vigour of their arms, and swam bravely for the
shore. With all their precautions, they were overheard by the
watch. The alarm was given, the boats were manned, and gave
chase in the direction of a light blazing on the shore, an evident
beacon for the fugitives. Notwithstanding all the exertions of the
oar, such was the vigour of these sea nymphs, that they reached
the land in safety. Four were retaken on the beach, but the heroic
Catalina, with the rest of her companions, made good their escape
into the forest.

When the day dawned, Columbus sent to Guacanagari to de-
mand the fugitives, or if they were not in his possession, that he
would have search made for them. The residence of the cacique,
however, was silent and deserted; not an Indian was to be seen.
Either conscious of the suspicions of the Spaniards, and apprehen-
sive of their hostility, or desirous to enjoy his prize unmolested,
the cacique had removed, with all his effects, his household and his
followers, and had taken refuge w^ith his island beauty in the interior.
This sudden and mysterious desertion gave redoubled force to the
doubts heretofore entertained, and Guacanagari was generally stig
matized as a traitor to the white men, and the perfidious destroyer
of the garrison.*

* Peter Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 2. Letter of Dr. Chanca. Cura de los Palacios
Cap. 120. MS.

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 229

CHAPTER VI.

FOUNDING OF THE CITY OF ISABELLA MALADIES OF THE

SPANIARDS.

[ 1493. ]

The misfortunes which had befallen the Spaniards both by sea and
land, in the vicinity of this harbour, had thrown a gloom round the
neighbourhood. The rains of the fortress, and the graves of their
murdered countrymen, were continually before their eyes ; and the
forests no longer looked beautiful, while there was an idea that
treachery might be lurking in their shades. The silence and dreari-
ness, also, caused by the desertion of the natives, gave a sinister
appearance to the place. It began to be considered by the credulous
mariners as under some baleful influence, or malignant star. These
were sufficient objections to discourage the founding of a settlement
in that superstitious age, but there were others of a more solid na-
ture. The land in the vicinity was low, moist, and unhealthy, and
there was no stone for building; Columbus determined, therefore,
to abandon the place altogether, and to found his projected colony
in some more favourable situation. No time was to be lost ; the
animals on board of the ships were suffering from long confinement,
and needed the reviving range and the fresh herbage of the pasture;
and the multitude of persons, unaccustomed to the sea, and pent up
in the fleet, languished for the refreshment of the land. Recon-
noitring expeditions were dispatched, therefore, in the lighter cara-
vels, which scoured the coast in each direction, entering the rivers
and harbours in search of an advantageous site for a colony. They
were instructed also to make inquiries after Guacanagari, of whom
Columbus, notwithstanding every suspicious appearance, still re-
tained a favourable opinion. The expeditions returned, after rang-
ing a considerable extent of coast, without success. There were
fine rivers and secure ports, but the coast was low and marshy, and
deficient in stone. The countrj^- was generally deserted, or if they
saw any of the natives, they fled immediately to the woods. Mel-
chor Maldonado had proceeded to the eastward, until he came to
the dominions of a cacique, who at first issued forth at the head
of his warriors, with menacing aspect and a show of hostility, but

U

230 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VI.

was readily soothed into the most amicable disposition. From him
he learnt that Guacanagari had retired from the plain to the moun-
tains. Another party discovered an Indian concealed near a hamlet,
having been disabled by a wound received from a lance when fight-
ing against Caonabo. His account of the destruction of the for-
tress agreed with that of the Indians at the harbour, and concurred
to vindicate the cacique from the charge of treachery. Thus the
minds of the Spaniards continued full of doubt and perplexity, as to
the real perpetrators of this dark and dismal tragedy.

Being convinced that there was no place in this part of the island
favourable for a settlement, Columbus weighed anchor on the 7th of
December, with the intention of seeking the port of La Plata. In
consequence of adverse weather, however, he was obliged to put into
a harbour about ten leagues east of Monte Christ i; and on consider-
ing the place was struck with its advantages.

The harbour was spacious, and commanded by a pomt of land
protected on one side by a natural rampart of rocks, and on another
by an impervious forest, presenting a strong position for a fortress.
There were two rivers, one large and the other small, watering a
green and beautiful plain, and offering advantageous situations for
mills. About a bow shot from the sea, on the banks of one of the
rivers, was an Indian village. The soil appeared to be fertile, the
waters to abound in excellent fish, and the climate to be temperate
and genial; for the trees were in leaf, the shrubs in flower, and the
birds in song, though it was the middle of December. They had
not yet become familarized with the temperature of this favoured isl-
and, where the rigours of winter are unknown, where there is a
perpetual succession and even intermixture of fruit and flower, and
where smiling verdure reigns throughout the year.

Another grand inducement to form their settlement in this place,
was information received from the Indians of the adjacent village,
that the mountains of Cibao, where the gold mines were situated,
lay at no great distance, and almost parallel to the harbour. It was
determined, therefore, that there could not be a situation more
favourable for their colony.

An interesting and animated scene now commenced. The troops
and various persons belonging to the land service, and the various
labourers and artificers to be employed in building, were disembarked.
The provisions, articles of traffic, guns and ammunition for defence,
and implements of every kind, were brought to shore ; as were also
the cattle and live stock, which had suffered excessively from long
restraint, especially the horses. There was a general joy at escaping
from the irksome confinement of the ships, and once more treading

I

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 231

the firm green earth, and breathing the sweetness of the fields. An
eiwjampment was formed on the margin of the plain, around a basin
or sheet of water, and in a little while the whole place was in
activity. Thus was founded the first Christian city of the New
World, to which Ck)lumbus gave the name of Isabella, in honour of
his royal patroness.

A plan was formed, and streets and squares projected, according
to which the place was to be built. The greatest diligence was then
exerted in erecting a church, a public storehouse, and a residence for
the admiral. These were built of stone; the private houses were
constructed of wood, plaster, reeds, or such materials as the exigency
of the case permitted ; and for a short time every one exerted himself
with the utmost zeal.

This animated scene was soon overcast by maladies which broke
out among the people. Many were unaccustomed to the sea, and had
suffered greatly from the confinement of the ships, an'^ the sickness
incident to voyages ; their healths had likewise been affected by sub-
sisting for a length of time on salt provisions, much of which was
in an unwholesome state, and on biscuit which was mouldy and de-
cayed. They had been subject to great exposures on the land also,
before houses could be built for their reception; for the exhalations of
a hot and a moist climate, and a new rank soil, the humid vapours
from the rivers, and the stagnant air of close overwhelming forests,
render the luxuriant wilderness a place of severe trial to constitutions
accustomed to old and highly cultivated countries. The labour also
of building the city, clearing fields, setting out orchards, and plant-
ing gardens, having all to be done with great haste bore hard upon
men, who, after tossing so long upon the ocean, stood in need of re-
laxation and repose.

The maladies of the mind, also, mingled with those of the body.
Many, as has been shown, had embarked in the expedition with the
most visionary and romantic expectations. Some had anticipated
the golden regions of Cipango and Cathay, where they were to amass
wealth without toil or trouble ; others a region of Asiatic luxury,
abounding with wonders and delights ; and others a splendid and
open career for gallant adventure, and chivalrous enterprise. What
then was their disappointment to find themselves confined to the
margin of an island, surrounded by impenetrable forests, doomed
to struggle with the rudeness of a wilderness; to toil painfully
for mere subsistence, and to attain every comfort by the severest
exertion. As to gold, it was brought to them from various quarters,
but in small quantities, and it was evidently to be procured only by
patient and persevering labour. All these disappointments sank

252 UPE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VI,

deep into their hearts; their spirits flagged as their golden dreams
melted away; and the gloom of despondency aided the ravages of
disease.

Columbus himself did not escape the prevalent maladies. The
arduous nature of his enterprise ; the responsibility under which he
found himself, not merely to his followers, or to his sovereigns, but to
the world at large, had kept his mind in continual agitation. The
cares of so large a squadron; the incessant vigilance required not
only against the lurking dangers of these unknown seas, but against
the passions and follies of his followers ; the distress he had suffered
from the fate of his murdered garrison ; and his uncertainty as to the
conduct of the barbarous tribes by which he was surrounded ; all
these had harassed his mind and broken his rest, while on board the
ship ; since landing, new cares and toils had crowded upon him,
which, added to the exposures incident to his situation in this new
climate, completely overpowered his strength. Still, though con
fined for several weeks to his bed by severe indisposition his energetic
mind rose superior to the sufferings of the body, and he continued to
give directions about the building of the city, and to superintend the
general concerns of the expedition.*

CHAPTER VII.

EXPEDITION OF ALONZO I>E OJEDA TO EXPLORE THE INTERIOR
OP THE ISLAND DISPATCH OF THE SHIPS TO SPAIN.

[1493.]

The ships having discharged their cargoes, it was necessary to
send the greater part of them back to Spain. Here new anxieties
pressed upon the mind of Columbus. He had hoped to find trea-
sures of gold, and precious merchandise, accumulated by the men
he had left behind ; or at least the sources of wealthy trafiic ascer-
tained, by which he would have been enabled speedily to freight
his vessels. The destruction of the garrison had defeated all those
hopes. He was aware of the extravagant expectations entertained

♦ Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 50. Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, Lib. 2, Cap. tOl
Peter Martyn Decad. 1, Lib. 2. Letter of Dr. Chanca, &c.

Jhap. Vn.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 233.

bj the sovereigns and the nation. What would be their disappoint-
ment when the returning ships brought nothing but a tale of disas-
ter ! Something must be done before the vessels sailed, to keep up
the fame of his discoveries, and justify his own magnificent repre^
sentations.

As jet he knew nothing of the interior of the island, and his san-
guine imagination pictured it as abounding with riches. If it were
really the island of Cipango, it must contain populous cities, exist-
ing very probably in some more cultivated region, beyond the lofty
mountams with which it was intersected. All the Indians con-
curred in mentioning Cibao as the tract of country from whence
they derived their gold. The very name of its cacique, Caonabo,
signifying " the Lord of the Golden House," seemed to indicate the
wealth of his dominions. The tract where the mines were said to
abound, lay at a distance of about three or four days' journey, di-
rectly in the interior ; Columbus determined, therefore, to send an
expedition to explore it, previous to the sailing of the ships. If the
result should confirm his hopes, he would then be able to send home
the fleet with confidence, bearing tidings of the discovery of the
golden mountains of Cibao.*

The person he chose for this enterprise was Don Alonzo de Ojeda,
the same cavalier who has been already noticed for his daring spiwit
and great bodily force a^d agility. Delighting in all service of a
hazardous and adventurous nature, Ojeda was the more stimulated
to this expedition, from the formidable character of the mountain
cacique, Caonabo, whose dominions he was to penetrate. He set
out from the harbour early in January, 1494, accompanied by a
small force of well armed and determined men, several of them
young and spirited cavaliers like himself He struck directly south-
ward into the interior. For the two first days the march was toil-
i^ome and difficult, through a country abandoned by its inhabitants ;
for terror of the Spaniards seemed to have extended along the sea-
coast. On the second evening they came to a lofty range of moun-
tains, which they ascended by an Indian path, winding up a steep
and narrow defile, and they slept for the night at the summit. From
hence, the next morning, they beheld the sun rise with great glorj
over a vast and delicious plain, covered with noble forests, studded
with villages and hamlets, and enhvened by the shining waters of
the Yagui.

Descending into this plain, Ojeda and his companions boldly en
tered the Indian villages. The inhabitants, far from being hostile,

* Herrera. Hist. Ind, D. 1, L. 2, Cap. 10. tt o

234 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VJ

overwhelmed them with hospitality, and, in fact, impeded their jour
ney by their kindness. They had also to ford many rivers in tra«
versing this plain, so that they were five or six days in reaching the
chain of mountains which locked up, as it were, the golden region
of Cibao. They penetrated into this district without meeting with
any other obstacles than those presented by the rude nature of the
country. Caonabo, so redoubtable for his courage and ferocity,
must have been in some distant part of his dominions ; for he never
appeared to dispute their progress. The natives received them with
kindness ; they were naked and uncivilized, like the other inhabit-
ants of the island ; nor were there any traces of the important cities
which their imaginations had once pictured forth. They saw, how-
ever, ample signs of natural wealth. The sands of the mountain
streams glittered with particles of gold ; these the natives would
skilfully separate, and frankly give to the Spaniards, without ex-
pecting a recompense. In some places they picked up large speci-
mens of virgin ore, from the beds of the torrents, and stones streaked
and richly impregnated with it. Peter Martyr affirms, that he saw
a mass of rude gold weighing nine ounces, which Ojeda himself
had found in one of the brooks.*

All these were considered as mere superficial washings of the
soil, betraying the hidden treasures lurkii^ m the deep veins, and
rocky bosoms of the mountains, and only requiring the hand of
labour to bring them to light. As the object of his expedition was
merely to ascertain the nature of the country, Ojeda led back his
little band to the harbour, full of enthusiastic accounts of the golden
promise of these mountains. A young cavalier of the name of Gor-
valan, who had been dispatched at the same time on a similar expe-
dition, and who had explored a diflferent tract of country, returned
with similar reports. These flattering accounts served for a time to
reanimate the drooping and desponding colonists, and induced Co-
lumbus to believe that it was only necessary to explore the mines of
Cibao, to open inexhaustible sources of riches. He determined, as
soon as his health would permit, to repair in person to the moun-
tains, and seek a favourable site for a mining establishment.*

The season was now propitious for the return of the fleet. En-
couraged hy the promising prospects he was enabled to hold out,
Columbus lost no time in dispatching twelve of the ships, under
the command of Antonio de Torres, retaining only five for the ser-
vice of the colony.

By this opportunity he sent home specimens of the gold found
among the mountains and rivers of Cibao, and of all such fruits and

♦ P. Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 2. t Hist, del Alrairante, Cap. 50.

danr. VII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 235

plants as were curious, or appeared to be valuable. He wrote in the
most sanguine terms of the expeditions of Ojeda and Gorvalan, the
last of whom returned to Spain in the fleet. He repeated his confi-
dent anticipations of soon being able to make abundant shipments of
gold, of precious drugs and spices; the search for them being de-
layed for the present, bj the sickness of himself and people, and the
cares and labours required in building the infant city. He described
the beauty and fertility of the island ; its ranges of noble mountains ;
its wide abundant plains, watered by beautiful rivers ; the quick fe-
cundity of the soil, evinced in the luxuriant growth of the sugar-
cane, and of various grains and vegetables brought from Europe.

As it would take some time, however, to obtain provisions from
their fields and gardens, and the produce of their live stock, adequate
to the subsistence of the colony, which consisted of about a thousand
souls ; and, as they could not accustom themselves to the diet of the
natives, Columbus requested present supplies from Spain. Their
provisions were already growing scanty. Much of their wine had
been lost from the badness of the casks ; and the colonists, in their
infirm state of health, suffered greatly from the want of their accus-
tomed nourishment. There was an immediate necessity of medi-
cines, clothing and arms. Horses were required, likewise, for the
public works, and for military service ; being found of great eflfect in
awing the natives, who had the utmost dread of these animals. He
requested also an additional number of workmen and mechanics,
and men skilled in mining and in smelting and purifying ore. He
recommended various persons to the notice and favour of the sove-
reigns ; among whom was Pedro Margarite, an Aragonian cavalier
of the order of St. Jago, who had a wife and children to be provided
for, and who, for his good services, Columbus begged might be ap-
pointed to a command in the order to which he belonged. In like
manner he entreated patronage for Juan Aguado, who was about to
return in the fleet, making particular mention of his merits. From
both of these men he was destined to experience the most signal
ingratitude.

In these ships he sent also the men, women, and children, taken in
the Caribbee islands, recommending that they should be carefully
instructed in the Spanish language, and the Christian faith. From
the roving and adventurous nature of these people, and their general
acquaintance with the various languages of this great archipelago,
he thought that, when the precepts of religion, and the lights of
civilization had reformed their savage manners, and cannibal pro-
pensities, they might be rendered eminently serviceable as interpre-
ters, and as means of propagating the doctrines of Christianity.

236 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VI

Among the many sound and salutary suggestions in this letter,
there is one of a most pernicious tendency, written in that mistaken
view of natural rights, prevalent at the day, but fruitful of so much
wrong and misery in the world. Considering that the greater the
number of these cannibal pagans transferred to the Catholic soil of
Spain, the greater would be the number of souls put in the way of
salvation, he proposed to establish an exchange of them as slaves,
against live stock, to be furnished by merchants to the colony. The
ships to bring such stock, were to land no where but at the harbour
of Isabella, where the Carib captives would be ready for delivery.
A duty was to be levied on each slave for the benefit of the royal
revenue. In this way, the colony would be furnished with all kinds
of live stock free of expense ; the peaceful islanders would be freed
from warlike and inhuman neighbours ; the royal treasury would be
greatly enriched ; and a vast number of souls would be snat€hed
from perdition, and carried, as it were, by main force to heaven.
Such is the strange sophistry by which upright men may sometimes
deceive themselves. Columbus feared the disappointment of the
sovereigns in respect to the product of his enterprises, and was
anxious to devise some mode of lightening their expenses, until he
could open some ample source of profit. The conversion of infidels,
by fair means or foul, hy persuasion or force, was one of the popular
tenets of the day ; and in recommending the enslaving of the Caribs,
Columbus thought that he was obeying the dictates of his conscience,
when he was in reality listening to the incitements of his interest.
It is but just to add, that the sovereigns did not accord with his
ideas ; but ordered that the Caribs should be converted like the rest
of the islanders ; a command which emanated from the merciful
heart of Isabella, who ever manifested herself the benign protectress
of the Indians.

The fleet put to sea on the 2d of February, 1494. Though it
brought back no wealth to Spain, yet expectation was kept alive by
the sanguine letter of Columbus, and the specimens of gold which
he transmitted ; his favourable accounts were corroborated by letters
from friar Boyle, Dr. Chanca and other persons of credibility, and
by the personal reports of Gorvalan. The sordid calculations of
petty spirits were as yet overruled by the enthusiasm of generous
minds, captivated by the lofty nature of these enterprises. There
was something wonderfully grand in the idea of thus introducing
new races of animals and plants, of building cities, extending colo-
nies, and sowing the seeds of civilization and of enlightened em-
pire, in this beautiful but savage world. It struck the minds of
learned and classical men with admiration, filling them with pleasant

Cha^. Vm.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 237

dreams and reveries, and seeming to realize the poetical pictures of
the olden time. " Columbus," says old Peter Martyr, " has begun to
build a city, as he has lately written to me, and to sow our seeds and
propagate our animals ! Who of us shall now speak with wonder
of Saturn, Ceres, and Triptolemus, travelhng about the earth, to
spread new inventions among mankind? Or of the Phoenicians who
built Tyre and Sidon ? Or of the Tyrians themselves, whose roving
desires led them to migrate into foreign lands, to build new cities,
and establish new communities ?"*

Such were the comments of enlightened and benevolent men, who
hailed with enthusiasm the discovery of the New World, not for the
wealth it would bring to Europe, but for the field it would open for
glorious and benevolent enterprise, and the blessings and improve-
ments of civilized life which it would widely dispense through bar-
barous and uncultivated regions.

CHAPTER VIIL

|>ISCONTENTS AT ISABELLA— MUTINY OF BERNAL DIAZ DB PISA.

[1494.]

The embryo city of Isabella was rapidly assuming a form. A dry
stone wall surrounded it, to protect it from any sudden attack of
the natives ; although the most friendly disposition was evinced by
the Indians of the vicinity, who brought supplies of their simple
articles of food, and gave them in exchange for European trifles.
On the day of Epiphany, the 6th of February, the church being
sufficiently completed, high mass was celebrated, with great pomp
and ceremony, by friar Boyle, and the twelve ecclesiastics. The
affairs of the settlement being thus apparently in a regular train,
Columbus, though still confined by indisposition, began to make
arrangements for his contemplated expedition to the mountains of
Cibao, when an unexpected disturbance in his little community for
a time engrossed his attention.

The sailing of the fleet for Spain had been a melancholy sight to
many whose terms of enlistment compelled them to remain on the

* Letter 153, to Pomponius Letus.

18

LIFE AND VOYAGES OF

[Book VI.

island. Disappointed in their expectations of immediate wealth, dis-
gusted with the labours imposed on them, and appalled by the maladies
prevalent throughout the community, they began to look with horror
upon the surrounding wilderness, as destined to be the grave of their
hopes and of themselves. When the last sail disappeared, which
was bearing their companions back to Spain, they felt as if com-
pletely severed from their country; and the tender recollections of
home, which had been checked for a time by the novelty and bustle
around them, rushed with sudden force upon their minds. To
return to Spain, became their ruling idea ; and the same want of
reflection, which had hurried them into the enterprise, without in-
quiring into its real nature, now prompted them to extricate them-
selves from it, by any means however desperate.

Where popular discontents prevail, there is seldom wanting some
daring spirit to give them a dangerous direction. One Bernal Diaz
de Pisa, a man of some standing, who had held a civil office about
the court, had come out with the expedition as comptroller: he
seems to have presumed upon his official powers, and to have had
early differences with the admiral. Disgusted with his employment
in the colony, he soon made a faction among the discontented, and
proposed that they should take advantage of the indisposition of
Columbus, to seize upon some or all of the five ships in the harbour,
and return in them to Spain. It would be easy to justify their
clandestine return, by preferring a complaint against the admiral,
representing the fallacy of his enterprises, and accusing him of
gross deceptions and exaggerations, in his accounts of the countries
he had discovered. It is probable that some of these people really
considered him culpable of the charges thus fabricated against him;
for in the disappointment of their avaricious hopes, they overlooked
the real value of those fertile islands, which were to enrich nations
by the produce of their soil. Every country was sterile and unpro-
fitable in their eyes, that did not immediately teem with gold.
Though they had continual proofs, in the specimens brought by the
natives to the settlement, or furnished to Ojeda and Gorvalan, that
the rivers and mountains in the interior abounded with ore, yet even
these daily proofs were falsified in their eyes. One Fermin Cedo,
a wrong-headed and obstinate man, who had come out as assayer
and purifier of metals, had imbibed the same prejudice against the
expedition with Bernal Diaz. He pertinaciously insisted that there
was no gold m the island ; or at least that it was found in such in-
considerable quantities as not to repay the search. He declared
that the large grains of virgin ore brought hy the natives had been
melted ; that they had been the slow accumulations of many years

Chap. VHI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 239

havins^ remained a long time in the families of the Indians, and
been handed down from generation to generation. Other speci-
mens, of a very large size, he pionounced of a very inferior quality,
and that they had been debased with brass by the natives. Thus
the words of this man outweighed the evidence of facts; and many
joined him in the belief that the island was really destitute of gold.
It was not until some time afterwards, that the real character of
Fermin Cedo was ascertained, and the discovery made, that his
ignorance was at least equal to his obstinacy and his presumption;
qualities which are apt to enter largely into the compound of a
meddlesome and mischievous man.*

Encouraged by such substantial co-operation, a number of the
turbulent spirits of the colony concerted to carry the plan into im-
mediate effect, and to take possession of the ships and make sail
for Europe. The influence of Bernal Diaz de Pisa at court, would
obtain for them a favourable hearing ; and they trusted to their
unanimous representations, to prejudice Columbus in the opinion of
the public, ever fickle in its smiles, and most ready to turn suddenly
and capriciously from the favourite it has most idolized.

Fortunately this mutiny was discovered before it proceeded to
action. Columbus immediately ordered the ringleaders to be arrested.
On making investigations, a memorial or information against himself,
full of slanders and misrepresentations, was found concealed in the
buoy of one of the ships. It was in the handwriting of Bernal Diaz.
The admiral conducted himself with great moderation. Out of
respect to the rank and station of Diaz, he forebore to inflict any
punishment on him ; but confined him on board of one of the ships
to be sent to Spain for trial, together with the process or investigation
of his oflfence, and the seditious memorial which had been discovered.
Several of the inferior mutineers were punished according to the de-
gree of their culpability, but not with the severity which their offence
deserved. To guard against any recurrence of a similar attempt,
Columbus ordered that all the guns and naval munitions should be
taken out of four of the vessels, and put into the principal ship,
which was given m charge to persons in whom he could place im-
plicit confidence.!

This was the first time that Columbus exercised the right of pu-
nishing delinquents in his new government; and it immediately
awakened the most violent animadversions. His measures, though
necessary for the general safety, and characterized by the greatest
lenity, were censured as arbitrary and vindictive. Already the

• Cura de los Palacios, Cap. 120. 122. MS.

t Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, L. 2, Cap. 11 Hist, del Almirante, C. 50.

240 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VI.

disadvantage of being a foreigner among the people he was to go-
vern, was clearly manifested. He had national prejudices to encoun-
ter, of all others the most general and illiberal. He had no natural
friends to rally round him ; whereas the mutineers had connexions
in Spain, friends in the colony, and met with sympathy in every dis-
contented mind. An early hostility was thus engendered against
Columbus, which continued to increase throughout his life; and the
seeds ware sown of a series of factions and mutinies, which after-
wards distracted the Island.

CHAPTER IX

EXPEDITION OF COLUMBUS TO THE MOUNTAINS OF CIBAO.

[1494.]

Having at length recovered from his long illness, and the mutiny at
the settlement being effectually checked, Columbus prepared for his
immediate departure for Cibao. He intrusted the command of the
city and the ships, during his absence, to his brother, Don Diego,
appointing able persons to counsel and assist him. Don Diego is re-
presented by Las Casas, who knew him personally, as a man
of great merit and discretion; of a gentle and pacific disposition,
and more characterized by simplicity than shrewdness. He was
sober in his attire, wearing almost the dress of an ecclesiastic; and
Las Casas thinks he had secret hopes of preferment in the church ;*
indeed, Columbus intimates as much when he mentions him in
his will.

As the admiral intended to build a fortress in the mountains,
and to form an estabhshment for working the mines, he took with
him the necessary artificers, workmen, miners, munitions, and im-
plements. He was also about to enter the territories of the redoubt-
able Caonabo; it was important, therefore, to take with him a force
that should not only secure him against any warlike opposition, but
that should spread through the country a formidable idea of the
power of the white men, and deter the Indians from any future act]

* Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 82. MS.

Chap. IX.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 241

of violence, either towards communities or wandering individuals,
whom chance might throw into their power. Every healthy person,
therefore, who could be spared from the settlement, was put in requisi
tioii, together with all the cavalry that could be mustered; and every
arrangement was made to strike the savages with a display of mili-
tary splendour.

On the 12th of March, Columbus set out at the head of about four
hundred men, well armed and equipped, with shining helmets and
corslets; with arquebusses, lances, swords, and cross-bows, and fol-
lowed by a multitude of the neighbouring Indians. They sallied
forth from the city in battle array, with banners flying, and sound
of drum and trumpet. Their march for the first day was across the
plain, which lay between the sea and the mountains, fording two
rivers, and passing through a fair and verdant country. They en-
camped m the evening in the midst of pleasant fields, at the foot
of a wild and rocky pass of the mountains.

The ascent of this rugged defile presented formidable difiiculties
to the little army, encumbered as it was with various implements and
munitions. There was nothing but an Indian foot path winding
among rocks and precipices, or through brakes and thickets, entan-
gled by the rich vegetation of a tropical forest. A number of high
spirited young cavaliers volunteered to open a route for the army.
The youthful cavaliers of Spain were accustomed to this kind of ser-
vice in the Moorish wars; where it was oftfen necessary, on a sudden,
to open roads for the march of troops, and the conveyance of artillery,
across the mountains of Granada. Throwing themselves in the ad-
vance, with labourers and pioneers whom they stimulated by their
example, as well as by promises of liberal reward, they soon con-
structed the first road formed in the new world; and which was
called El Puerto de los Hidalgos, or The Gentlemen's Pass, in ho-
nour of the gallant cavaliers who effected it.*

On the following day, the army toiled up this steep defile, and
arrived to where the gorge of the mountain opened into the interior.
Here a land of promise suddenly burst upon their view. It was the
same glorious prospect which had delighted Ojeda and his compan
ions. Below lay a vast and delicious plain, painted and enamelled,
as it were, with all the rich variety of tropical vegetation. The
magnificent forests presented that mingled beauty and majesty of
vegetable forms, known only to these generous C-imates. Palms of
prodigious height, and wide-spreading mahogany trees, towered from
amid a wilderness of variegated foliage. Universal freshness and

* Hist, del Almirante, C. 50. Hidalgo, i. e. Hijo de Algo — literally, a son ol
somebody.

Vol. I. 16 V

242 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VI.

verdure were maintained bj numerous streams, which wandered
gleaming through the deep bosom of the woodland ; while various
villages and hamlets, peeping from among the trees, and the smoke
of others rising out of the midst of the forests, gave signs of a nu-
merous population. The luxuriant landscape extended as far as the
eye could reach, until it appeared to melt away and mingle with the
horizon. The Spaniards gazed with rapture upon this soft voluptu-
ous country, which seemed to realize their ideas of a terrestrial para-
dise ; and Columbus, struck with its vast extent, gave it the name
of the Vega Real, or Royal Plain.*

Having descended the rugged pass, the army issued unon the
plain, in military array, with great clangor of warlike mstruments.
When the Indians beheld this shining band of warriors, glittering
in steel, emerging from the mountains, with prancing steeds and
flaunting banners, and heard for the first time their rocks and forests
echoing to the din of drum and trumpet, they might well have taken
such a wonderful pageant for a supernatural vision.

In this way Columbus disposed his forces, whenever he approached
a populous village ; placing the cavalry in front, for the horses in-
spired a mingled terror and admiration among the natives. Las
Casas observes that at first they supposed the rider and his horse to
be one animal, and nothing could exceed their astonishment at see-
ing the horseman dismount ; a circumstance which shows that the
alleged origin of the ancient fable of the Centaurs is at least founded
in nature. On the approach of the army, the Indians generally fled
with terror, and took refuge in their houses. Such was their sim-
phcity, that they merely put up a slight barrier of reeds at the portal,
and seemed to consider themselves perfectly secure. Columbus,
pleased to meet with such artlessness, ordered that these frail barriers
should be scrupulously respected, and the inhabitants allowed to
remain in their fancied security.! By degrees their fears were
allayed, through the mediation of the interpreters, and the distribu-
tion of trifling presents. Nothing could then surpass their kindness
and gratitude; and the march of the army was continually retarded
by the hospitality of the numerous villages through which it passed.
Such was the frank communion among these people, that the Indians
who accompanied the army, entered without ceremony into the
houses, helping themselves to any thing of which they stood in need,
without exciting surprise or anger in the inhabitants; the latter
offered to do the same with respect to the Spaniards, and seemed asto-
nished when they met with a repulse. This, it is probable, was the

* Las Casas, Hist. Ind. Lib. 1, Cap. 90. MS. tLas Casas, Lib. Sup. L. 1,
C. 90.

Chap. IX-l CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 243

case merely with respect to articles of food ; for we are told that the
Indians were not careless in their notions of property, and the crima
of theft was one of the few which were punished among them with
great severity. Food, however, is generally open to free participa-
tion in savage life, and is rarely made an object of barter, until habits
of trade have been introduced by the white men. The untutored
savage, in almost every part of the world, scorns to make a traffic
of hospitality.

After a march of five leagues across this plain, they arrived at
the banks of a large and beautiful stream, called by the natives, the
Yagui, but to which the admiral gave the name of the River of
Reeds. He was not aware that it was the same stream, which, after
winding through the Vega, falls into the sea near Monte Christi,
and which in his first voyage he had named the River of Gold,
On its green banks the army encamped for the night, animated and
delighted with the beautiful scenes through which they had passed.
They bathed and sported in the waters of the Yagui, enjoying the
amenity of the surrounding landscape, and the delightful airs which
prevail in that genial season. " For though there is but little dififer-
ence," observes Las Casas, "from one month to another in all the
year in this island, and in most parts of these Indias, yet in the
months from September to May, it is like hving in paradise."*

On the following morning, they crossed this stream by the aid of
canoes and rafts, swimming the horses over. For two days they con-
tinued their march through the same kind of rich level country,
diversified by noble forests, and watered by abundant streams, several
of which descended from the mountains of Cibao, and were said to
bring down gold dust mingled with their sands. To one of these,
the limpid waters of which ran over a bed of smooth round pebbles,
Columbus gave the name of Rio Verde, or Green River, from the
verdure and freshness of its banks. In the course of this march,
they passed through numerous villages, where they experienced ge-
nerally the same reception. The simple inhabitants fled at their ap-
proach, putting up their slight barricadoes of reeds, but, as before
they were easily won to familiarity, and tasked their limited means
to entertain the strangers.

Thus penetrating into the midst of this great island, where every
scene presented the wild luxuriance of beautiful but uncivilized na-
ture, they arrived, on the evening of the second day, to a chain of
lofty and rugged mountains, which formed a kind of barrier to the
Vega. These, Columbus was told, were the golden mountains of

Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 90. MS.

244 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VL

Cibao, whose reg-ion commenced at their rocky summits. The
country beginning to grow rough and difficult, and the people being
wayworn, they encamped for the night at the foot of a steep defile,
which led up into the mountains, and pioneers were sent in advance
to open a road for the army. From this place they sent back mulct
for a supply of bread and wine, their provisions beginning to grow
scanty, for they had not as yet accustomed themselves to the food
of the natives, which was afterwards found to be of that light di
g-estible kind suitable to the climate.

On the next morning they resumed their march up a narrow and
steep glen, winding among craggy rocks, where they were obliged
to lead the horses. Arrived at the summit, they once more enjoyed
a prospect of the delicious Vega, which here presented a still grander
appearance, stretching far and wide on either hand, like a vast ver-
dant lake. This noble plain, according to Las Casas, is eighty
leagues in length, and from twenty to thirty in breadth, and of in-
comparable beauty.

They now entered Cibao, the famous region of gold, which, as
if nature delighted in contrarieties, displayed a miser-like poverty
of exterior, in proportion to its hidden treasures. Instead of the soft
luxuriant landscape of the Vega, they beheld chains of rocky and
sterile mountains, scantily clothed with lofty pines. The trees in
the valleys also, instead of possessing the rich tufted foliage common
to other parts of the island, were meagre, and dwarfish,, excepting
such as grew on the banks of streams. The very name of the
country bespoke the nature of the soil ; Ciba, in the language of the
natives, signifying a stone. Still, however, there were deep glens
and shady ravines among the mountains, watered by the most limpid
rivulets, where the green herbage, and the strips of woodland, were
the more delightful to the eye from the neighbouring sterility. But
what consoled the Spaniards for the asperity of the soil, was to
observe particles of gold glittering among the sands of those crystal
streams, which, though scanty in quantity, they regarded as earnests
of the wealth locked up within the mountains.

The natives having been pre\^iously visited by the exploiting party
under Ojeda, came forth to meet them with great alacrity; bringing
them food, and above all, grains and particles of gold, which they
had collected in the brooks and torrents, seeing how eagerly that
metal was coveted by the Spaniards. From the quantities of gold
dust in every stream, Columbus was convinced that there must be
several mines in the vicinity. He had met with specimens of amber
and lapis lazuli, though in very small quantities; and thought that
he had discovered a mine of copper. He wus now about eighteen

Chap. IX.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 245

leagues from the settlement; the rugged nature of the mountains
made a communication, even from this distance, laborious. He
gave up the idea, therefore, of penetrating further into the country,
and determined to establish a fortified post in this neighbourhood,
with a large number of men, as well to work the mines, as to explore
the rest of the province. He accordingly selected a pleasant situa-
tion on an eminence almost entirely surrounded by a small river
called the Yanique, the waters of which were as pure as if distilled,
and the sound of its current musical to the ear. In its bed were
found curious stones of various colours, large masses of beautiful
marble, and pieces of pure jasper. From the foot of the height
extended one of those graceful and verdant plains called savannahs,
which was freshened and fertilized by the river.*

On this eminence, Columbus ordered a strong fortress of wood and
plaster to be erected, capable of defence against any attack of the
natives, and protected by a deep ditch on the side which the river did
not secure. To this fortress he gave the name of St. Thomas,
intended as a gravely pleasant, though pious, reproof of the in-
credulity of Fermin Cedo and his doubting adherents, who obstinately
refused to believe that the island produced gold, until they beheld it
with their eyes and touched it with their hands, t

The natives having heard of the arrival of the Spaniards in their
vicinity, came flocking from various parts, anxious to obtain Euro-
pean trinkets. The admiral signified to them that any thing would
be given in exchange for gold ; upon hearing this, some of them ran
to a neighbouring river, and gathering and sifting its sands, returned
in a little while with considerable quantities of gold dust. One old
man brought two pieces of virgin ore weighing an ounce, and
thought himself richly repaid when he received a hawks' bell. On
remarking that the admiral was struck with the size of these speci-
mens, he affected to treat them with contempt, as insignificant,
intimating by signs, that in his country, which lay within half a
day's journey, they found pieces of gold as big as an orange. Other
Indians brought grains of gold weighing ten and twelve drachms,
and declared that in the country from whence they got them, there
were masses of ore as large as the head of a child. J As usual, how-
ever, these golden tracts were always in sonue more remote valley, or
along some rugged and sequestered stream; and the wealthiest spot
was sure to be at the greatest distance ; for the land of promise is
ever beyond the mountain.

♦ Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 90. MS. t Idem,

t Peter Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 3. y o

246 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book Yl

CHAPTER X

EXCURSION OF JUAN DE LUXAN AMONG THE MOUNTAINS CUS-
TOMS AND CHARACTERISTICS OF THE NATITES RETURN OF

COLUMBUS TO ISABELLA.

[ 1494. ]

While the admiral remained amonj^ the mountains, superintending
the building of the fortress, he dispatched a joung cavalier of Madrid;
named Juan de Luxan, with a small band of armed men, to range
about the country, and explore the whole of the province ; which
from the reports of the Indians appeared to be equal in extent to the
kingdom of Portugal. Luxan returned after a few days' absence,
with the most satisfactory accounts. He had traversed a great part
of Cibao, which he had found more capable of cultivation than had
at first been imagined. It was generally mountainous, and the soil
covered with large round pebbles of a blue colour, yet there was good
pasturage in many of the valleys. The mountains also, being
watered by frequent showers, produced grass of surprisingly quick
and luxuriant growth, often reaching to the saddles of the horses.
The forests seemed to Luxan to be full of valuable spices, he being
deceived by the odours emitted by those aromatic plants and herbs
which abound in the woodlands of the tropics. There were great
vines, also, climbing to the very summits of the trees, and bearing
clusters of grapes already ripe, full of juice, and of a pleasant
flavour. Every valley and glen possessed its stream, large or small,
according to the size of the neighbouring mountain, and all yielding
more or less gold, in small particles, showing the universal prevalence
of that precious metal. Luxan was supposed likewise to have
learned from the Indians many of the secrets of their mountains; to
have been shown the parts where the greatest quantity of ore was
found, and to have been taken to the most golden streams. On all
these points, however, he observed a discreet mystery, communicating
the particulars to no one but the admiral.*

The fortress of St. Thomas being nearly completed, Columbus
gave it in command to Pedro Margarite, the same cavalier whom
he had recommended to the favour of the sovereigns, and he left

* Peter Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 3.

<5hap. X.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 247

with him a garrison of fifty-six men. He then set out on his return
for Isabella. On arriving at the banks of the Rio Verde, or Green
River, in the Royal Vega, he found a number of Spaniards on their
way to the fortress with supplies. He remained, therefore, a few
days in the neighbourhood, searching for the best fording place of
the river, and establishing a route between the fortress and the har-
bour. During this time he resided in the Indian villages, endea-
vouring to accustom his people to the food of the natives ; as well
as to inspire the latter with a mingled feeling of good will and re-
verence for the white men.

From the report of Luxan, Columbus had derived some informa-
tion concerning the c aracter and customs of the natives, and he
acquired still more from his own observations in the course of his
sojourn among the tribes of the mountains and the plains. And
here a brief notice of a few of the characteristics and customs of
these people may be interesting. They are given, not merely as
observed by the admiral and his officers during this expedition, but
as recorded some time afterwards in a crude dissertation, by a friar
of the name of Roman, a poor hermit, as he styled himself, of the
order of the Jeronimites, who was one of the colleagues of father
Boyle, and resided for some time in the Vega as a missionary.

Columbus had already discovered the error of one of his opinions
concerning these islanders, formed during his first voyage. They
were not so entirely pacific, nor so ignorant of warlike arts, as he
had imagined. He had been deceived by the enthusiasm of his own
feelings, and by the gentleness of Guacanagari and his subjects.
The casual descents of the Caribs had compelled the inhabitants of
the seaboard to acquaint themselves with the use of arms. Some of
the mountain tribes near the coast, particularly those on the part
which looked towards the Caribbee islands, were of a more hardy
and warlike character than those of the plains. Caonabo, also, the
Carib chieftain, had introduced something of his own warrior spirit
into the centre of the island. Yet, generally speaking, the habits
of the people were mild and gentle. If wars sometimes occurred
among them, they were of short duration, and unaccompanied by
any great effusion of blood ; and in general they mingled amicably
and hospitably with each other.

Columbus had also at first indulged in the error that the natives
of Hayti were destitute of all notions of religion ; and he had con-
sequently flattered himself that it would be the easier to introduce
into their minds the doctrines of Christianity; not aware that it is
more difficult to light up the fire of devotion in the cold heart of an
atheist, than to divert the flame to a new object when it is already

248 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VJ.

enkindled. There are few beings, however, so destitute of reflec-
tion, as not to be impressed with the conviction of an overruhng
deity. A nation of atheists never existed. It was soon discovered
that these islanders had their creed, though of a vague and simple
nature. They believed in one supreme being who inhabited the
sky, who was immortal, omnipotent and invisible ; to whom they
ascribed an origin ; who had a mother, but no father.* They ne-
ver addressed their worship directly to him, but employed inferior
deities, called Zemes, as messengers and mediators. Each cacique
had his tutelar deity of this order, whom he invoked and pretended
to consult in all his public undertakings, and who was reverenced
by his people. He had a house apart, as a temple to this deity, in
■which was an image of his Zemi, carved of wood, or stone, or
shaped of clay or cotton, and generally of some monstrous and hi-
deous form. Each family, and each individual, had likewise a par-
ticular Zemi, or protecting genius, like the Lares and Penates of the
ancients These were placed in every part of their houses, or carved
on their furniture. Some had them of a small size, and bound them
about their foreheads when they went to battle. They believed their
Zemes to be transferable, with all their powers, and often stole them
from each other. When the Spaniards came among them, they
often hid their idols, lest they should be taken away. They believed
that these Zemes presided over every object in nature, each having
a particular charge or government. They influenced the seasons
arid the elements ; causing steril or abundant years, exciting hurri-
canes and whirlwinds, and tempests of rain and thunder, or sending
sweet and temperate breezes and fruitful showers. They governed
the seas and forests, the springs and fountains ; like the Nereids,
the Dryads, and the Satyrs of antiquity. They gave success in
hunting and fishing ; they guided the waters of the mountains into
safe channels, and led them down to wander through the plains, in
gentle brooks and peaceful rivers; or, if incensed, they caused them
to burst forth into rushing torrents and overwhelming floods, inundat-
ing and laying waste the valleys.

The natives had their Butios, or priests, who pretended to hold
communion with these Zemes. They practised rigorous fasts and
ablutions, and inhaled the powder, or drank the infusion of a cer-
tain herb, which produced a temporary intoxication or delirium.
In the course of this process, they professed to have trances and
visions, and that the Zemes revealed to them coming events, or in-
structed them in the treatment of maladies. They were in genera^

* Escritura de Fr. Roman. Hist, del Almirante,

Chap. X.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 249

great herbalists, and well acquainted with the medicinal properties of
trees and vegetables. Thej cured diseases through their knowledge
of simples, but always with many mysterious rites and ceremonies
and supposed charms; chanting, and burning a light in the cham-
ber of the patient, and pretending to exorcise the malady, to expei
it from the mansion, and to send it to the sea or to the mountain.*

Their bodies were painted or tattooed with figures of the Zemes,
which were regarded with horror by the Spaniards, as so many re-
presentations of the devil ; and the Butios, esteemed as a kind of
saints by the natives, were abhorred by the former as necromancers.
These Butios often assisted the caciques in practising deceptions
upon their subjects, speaking oracularly through the Zemes, by-
means of hollow tubes; inspiriting the Indians to battle by predicting
success, or dealing forth such promises or menaces as might suit the
purposes of the chieftain.

There is but one of their solemn religious ceremonies, of which
any record exists. The cacique proclaimed a day when a kind of
festival was to be held in honour of his Zemes. His subjects as-
sembled from all parts, and formed a solemn procession; the married
men and women decorated with their most precious ornaments, the
young females entirely naked. The cacique, or the principal per-
sonage, marched at the head, beating a kind of drum. In this way
they proceeded to the consecrated house, or temple, in which were
-set up the images of the Zemes. Arrived at the door, the cacique
seated himself on the outside, continuing to beat his drum, while the
procession entered; the females carrying baskets of cakes orna-
mented with flowers, and singing as they advanced. These oflfer-
ings were received by the Butios, with loud cries, or rather howl-
ings. They broke the cakes after they had been oflfered to the
Zemes, and distributed the morsels to the heads of families, who pre-
served them carefully throughout the year, as preventive of all ad-
verse accidents. This done, at a given signal the females danced,
singing songs in honour of the Zemes, or in praise of the heroic
actions of their ancient caciques, The whole ceremony finished by
invoking the Zemes to watch over and protect the nation.f

Beside the Zemes, each cacique had three idols or talismans,
which were mere stones, but which were held in great reverence by
themselves and their subjects. One they supposed had the power to
produce abundant harvests; another to remove all pain from women
in travail; and the third to call forth rain or sunshine; when either

* Oviedo, Cronica, L. 5, C. 1,

* Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming. L. 1, p. 56.

250 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VL

was required. Three of these were sent home by Columbus to the
sovereigns.*

The ideas of the natives with respect to creation, were vague and
undefined. They gave their own island of Hayti priority of exist-
ence over all others; and believed that the sun and moon originally
issued out of a cavern in the island, to give light to the world.
This cavern still exists, about seven or eight leagues from Cape
Francois. It is about one hundred and fifty feet in depth, and
nearly the same in height, but very narrow. It receives no light
but from the entrance, and from a round hole in the roof, from
whence it was said the sun and moon issued forth to take their
places in the sky. The vault was so fair and regular, that it ap-
peared a work of art rather than of nature. In the time of Charle-
voix, the figures of various Zemes were still to be seen cut in the
rocks, and there were the remains of niches, as if to receive statues.
This cavern was held in great veneration. It was painted, and
adorned with green branches, and other simple decorations. There
were in it two images or Zemes. When there was a want of rain,
the natives made pilgrimages and processions to it, with songs and
dances, bearing offerings of fruits and flowers. f

They believed that mankind issued from another cavern; the
large men from a great aperture, the small men from a little cranny.
They were for a long time destitute of women; but, wandering on
one occasion near a small lake, they saw certain animals among the
branches of the trees, which proved to be women. On attempting
to catch them, however, they were found to be as slippery as eels, so
that it was impossible to hold them. At length they employed cer*
tain men, whose hands were rendered rough by a kind of leprosy.
These succeeded in securing four of these slippery females, from
whom the world was peopled.

While the men inhabited this cavern, they dared only venture
forth at night, for the sight of the sun was fatal to them, turning
them into trees and stones. There was a cacique named Vagoniona,
who sent one of his men forth from the cave to fish, who, lingering at
his sport until the sun had risen, was turned into a bird of melodious
note, the same that Columbus mistook for the nightingale. They
added, that yearly about the time when he had suffered this trans-
formation, he comes in the night, with a mournful song, bewailing
his misfortune, which is the cause why that bird always sings in the
night season.^

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 61.

•j- Charlevoix, Hist, St. Doming. L. 1, p. 60.

t Fray Roman. Hist. Almirante, Peter Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 9

CaAP. X.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 251

Like most savage nations, they had also a tradition concerning
the universal deluge, equally fanciful with most of the preceding;
for it is singular how the human mind, in its natural state, is apt to
account, by trivial and familiar causes, for great events. They
said, that there once lived in the island a mighty cacique, whose
only son conspiring against him, he slew him. He afterwards col-
lected and picked his bones, and preserved them in a gourd, as was
the custom of the natives with the reliques of their friends. On a
subsequent day, the cacique and his wife opened the gourd to con-
template the bones of their son, when to their astonishment several
fish, great and small, leaped out. Upon this the cacique closed the
gourd, and placed it on the top of his house, boasting that he had the
sea shut up within it, and could have fish whenever he pleased.
Four brothers, however, who had been born at the same birth, and
were curious intermeddlers, hearing of this gourd, came during the
absence of the cacique to peep into it. In their carelessness they
suffered it to fall upon the ground, where it was dashed to pieces;
whenlo! to their astonishment and dismay, there issued forth a
mighty flood, with dolphins and sharks and tumbling porpoises and
great spouting whales; and the water spread until it overflowed the
earth, and formed the ocean, leaving only the tops of the mountains
uncovered, which are the present islands.*

They had singular modes of treating the dying and the dead.
When the life of a cacique was despaired of, they strangled him out
of a principle of respect, rather than suffer him to die Hke the vul-
gar. Common people were extended in their hammocks, bread and
water placed at their head, and they were then abandoned to die in
solitude. Sometimes they were carried to the cacique, and if he per-
mitted them the distinction, they were strangled. After death, the
body of a cacique was opened, dried at a fire, and preserved; of
others the head only was treasured up as a memorial, or occasionally
a limb. Sometimes the whole body was interred in a cave, with a
calabash of water and a loaf of bread; sometimes it was consumed
with fire, in the house of the deceased.

They had confused and uncertain notions of the existence of the
soul, when separated from the body. They believed in the appari-
tions of the departed at night, or by daylight in solitary places, to
lonely individuals; sometimes advancing as if to attack them, but
upon the traveller's striking at them they vanished, and he struck
merely against trees or rocks. Sometimes they mingled among the
living, and were only to be known by having no navels. The In-

* Escritura de Fray Roman, pobre Heremito.

252 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VI.

Jians, fearful of meeting with these apparitions, disliked to go about
alone, and in the dark.

They had an idea of a place of reward, to which the spirits of
good men repaired after death ; where they were re-united to the
spirits of those they had most loved during life, and to all their an-
cestors. Here they enjoyed uninterruptedly, and in perfection, those
• pleasures which constituted their felicity on earth. They lived in
shady and blooming bowers, with beautiful women, and banquetted
on delicious fruits. The paradise of these happy spirits was vari-
ously placed, almost every tribe assigning some favourite spot in
their native province. Many, however, concurred in describing this
region as being near a lake in the western part of the island, in the
beautiful province of Xaragua. Here there were delightful valleys,
covered with a delicate fruit called the mamey, about the size of an
apricot. They imagined that the souls of the deceased remained
cencealed among the airy and inaccessible cliffs of the mountains
during the day, but descended at night into these happy valleys, to
regale on this consecrated fruit. The living were sparing, therefore,
in eating of it, lest the souls of their friends should suffer for want of
their favourite nourishment.*

The dances to which the natives seemed so immoderately addicted,
and which had been at first considered by the Spaniards mere idle
pastimes, were found to be often ceremonials of a serious and mystic
character. They form indeed a singular and important feature
throughout the customs of the aboriginals of the New World. In
these are typified, by signs well understood by the initiated, and, as
it were, by hieroglyphic action, their historic events, their projected
enterprises, their huntings, their ambuscades, and their battles, re-
sembling, in some respects, the Pyrrhic dances of the ancients.
Speaking of the prevalence of these dances among the natives of
Hayti, Peter Martyr observes that they performed them to the chant
of certain metres and ballads handed down from generation to gene-
ration, in which were rehearsed the deeds of their ancestors. " These
rhymes or ballads," he adds, '^they call Areytos, and as our min*
strels are accustomed to sing to the harp and lute, so do they in like
manner sing these songs, and dance to the same, playing on timbrels
made of shells of certain fishes. These timbrels they call maguey.
They have also songs and ballads of love, and others of lamentation
or mourning. Some also to encourage them to the wars, all sung
to tunes agreeable to the matter."

* Hist, del Almirante, C. 61. Peter Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 9. Charlevoix,
Hist. St. Doming. Lib. I.

Chap. X.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 253

It was for these dances, as has been already observed, that they
were so eager to procure hawks' bells, suspending them about their
persons, and keeping time with their sound to the cadence of the
singers. This mode of dancing to a ballad, has been compared to
the dances of the peasants in Flanders during the summer, and to
those prevalent throughout Spain, to the sound of the castinets, and
to the wild popular chants said to be derived from the Moors; but
which in fact existed before their invasion, among the Goths who
overran the peninsula.*

The earliest history of almost all nations has generally been pre-
served by rude heroic rhymes and ballads, and by the lays of the
minstrels ; and such was the case with the areytos of the Indians.
When a cacique died, says Oviedo, they sang in dirges his life and
actions, and all the good that he had done came to memory. Thus
they formed the ballads or areytos which constituted their history, t
Some of these ballads wera of a sacred character, containing their
traditional notions of theology, and the superstitions and fables
which comprised their religious creeds. None were permitted to
sing these but the sons of caciques, who were instructed in them by
their Butios. They were chanted before the people on solemn fes-
tivals, like those already described, accompanied by the sound of a
kind of drum, made from a hollow tree. J

Such are a few of the characteristics remaining upon record of
these simple people, who perished from the face of the earth before
their customs and creeds were thought of sufficient importance to be
investigated. The present work does not profess to enter into
detailed accounts of the countries and people discovered by Colum-
bus, otherwise than as they may be useful for the illustration of his
history ; and perhaps the foregoing are carried to an unnecessary
length ; but they may serve to give greater interest to the subsequent
transactions of the island.

Many of these particulars, as has been observed, were gathered
by the admiral and his officers during their excursion among the
mountains, and their sojourn in the plain. The natives appeared
to them a singularly idle and improvident race, indifferent to most
of the objects of human anxiety and toil. They were impatient of
all kinds of labour, scarcely giving themselves the trouble to culti-
vate the yuca root, the maize and the potato, which formed main
articles of subsistence. For the rest, their streams abounded with

* Mariana, Hist. Esp. L. 5, C. 1. t Oviedo, Cronica de las Indias, L. 5, C. 3.

t Fray Roman. Hist, del Almirante, C. 61. P. Martyr, D. 1, L. 9. Herrera,

Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, L. 3, C. 4. Oviedo, L. 5, C. 1. ,„

W

254 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VI.

fish ; they caught the utia or coney, the guana, and various birds
and they had a perpetual banquet from the fruits spontaneously pro-
duced by their groves. Though the air was sometimes cold among
the mountains, yet they preferred submitting to a little temporary
suffering, rather than take the trouble to construct garments from the
gossampine cotton, which abounded in their forests-. They loitered
away existence in vacant inactivity under the shade of their trees
or amusing themselves occasionally with various games and dances

In fact, they were destitute of all powerful motives to toil ; being
free from most of those wants which doom mankind in civilized
life, or in less genial climates, to incessant labour. They had no
steril winter to provide against, particularly in the valleys and the
plains, where, according to Peter Martyr, " the island enjoyed per-
petual spring time, and was fortunate with continual summer and
harvest. The trees flourished throughout the year, and the meadows
continued always green." "There is no province, nor any region,"
he again observes, " which is not notable for the majesty of moun-
tains, the fraitfulness of vales, the pleasantness of hills, and delecta-
bleness of plains, with abundance of fair rivers running through
them. There never was any noisome animal found in it, nor yet
any ravening fourfooted beast ; no lion, nor bear ; no fierce tigers
nor crafty foxes, nor devouring wolves, but all things blessed and
fortunate."*

In the soft regions of the Vega, the circling seasons brought each
its store of fruits ; and while some were gathered in full maturity,
others were ripening on the boughs, and buds and blossoms gave
promise of still future abundance. What need was there of garner-
ing up, and anxiously providing for coming days, to men who lived
in a perpetual harvest? What need, too, of toilfully spinning, or
labouring at the loom, where a genial temperature prevailed through-
out the year, and neither nature nor custom prescribed the necessity
of clothing ?

The hospitality which characterizes men in such a simple and
easy mode of existence, was evinced towards Columbus and his fol-
lowers, during their sojourn in the Vega. Wherever they went, it
was a continual scene of festivity and rejoicing. The natives has-
tened from all parts, bearing them presents, and laying the treasures
of their groves, and streams, and mountains, at the feet of beings,
whom they still considered as descended from the skies, to bring
blessings to their island.

Having accomplished the purposes of his residence in the Vega,

* P. Martvr. Decad. 3, L. 9 English translation by R. Eden, London, 1555.

Chap. XI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 255

Columbus, at the end of a few days, took leave of its hospitable in-
habitants, and resumed his march for the harbour, returning with
his little army through the lofty and rugged gorge of the mountains,
called the Pass of the Hidalgos. As we accompany him in imagi-
nation over the rocky height, from whence the Vega first broke upon
the eye of the Europeans, we cannot help pausing, to cast back a
look of mingled pity and admiration over this beautiful but devoted
region. The dream of natural liberty, of ignorant content, and loi-
tering idleness, was as yet unbroken ; but the fiat had gone forth ;
the white man had penetrated into the land; avarice, and pride, and
ambition, and pining care and sordid labour and withering poverty,
were soon to follow, and the indolent paradise of the Indian was
about to disappear for ever.

CHAPTER XI.

ARRIVAL OF COLUMBUS AT ISABELLA SICKNFSS OF THE

COLONY.

[1494]

It was on the 29th of March that Columbus arrived at Isabella,
highly satisfied with his expedition into the interior. The appear-
ance of every thing in the vicinity of the harbour was calculated to
increase his anticipations of future prosperity. The plants and
fruits of the Old World, which he was endeavouring to introduce
into the island, gave promise of rapid increase. The orchards, fields
and gardens were in a great state of forwardness. The seeds of va-
rious fruits had produced young plants ; the sugar-cane had pros-
pered exceedingly ; a native vine, trimmed and dressed with care,
had yielded grapes of tolerable flavour ; and cuttings from European
vines already began to form their clusters. On the 30th of March,
a husbandman brought to Columbus ears of wheat which had been
sown in the latter part of January. The smaller kind of garden
herbs came to maturity in sixteen days, and the larger kind, such
as melons, gourds, pompions, and cucumbers, were fit for the table
within a month after the seed had been put into the ground. The
•oil, moistened by brooks, and rivers, and frequent showers, and

256 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VL

Stimulated hy an ardent sun, possessed those principles of fecundity,
which surprise the strang-er, accustomed to less vigorous climates,
by the promptness and prodigality of vegetation.

The admiral had scarcely returned to Isabella, when a messenger
arrived from Pedro Margarite, the commander at fort St. Thomas,
informing him that the Indians of the vicinity had manifested un-
friendly feelings ; abandoning their villages, and shunning all inter-
course with the white men ; and that Caonabo was assembling his
warriors, and secretly preparing to attack the fortress. The fact
was, that the moment the admiral had departed, the Spaniards, no
longer awed by his presence, had as usual listened only to their
passions, and had exasperated the natives by wresting from them
their gold, and wronging them with respect to their women. Cao-
nabo also had seen with impatience these detested intruders planting
their standard in the very midst of his mountains, and he knew that
he had nothing to expect from them but vengeance.

The tidings from Margarite, however, caused but little solicitude
in the mind of Columbus. From what he had seen of the Indians
in the interior, he had no apprehensions from their hostility. He
knew their weakness and their awe of white men ; and above all,
he confided in their terror of the horses, which they regarded as fe-
rocious beasts of prey, obedient to the Spaniards, but ready to devour
their enemies. He contented himself, therefore, with sending Mar-
garite a reinforcement of twenty men, with a supply of provisions
and ammunition, and detaching thirty men to open a road between
the fortress and the port.

What gave Columbus real and deep anxiety, was the sickness
the discontent, and dejection, which continued to increase in the set-
tlement. The same principles of heat and humidity, which gave
such fecundity to the fields, were fatal to the people. The exhala-
tions from undrained marshes and a vast continuity of forest^ and the
action of an ardent sun upon a reeking vegetable soil, produced inter-
mittent fevers, and various other of the maladies so trying to Euro-
pean constitutions in the uncultivated countries of the tropics. Many
of the Spaniards suffered also under the torments of a disease hitherto
unknown to them ; the scourge, as was supposed, of their licentious
intercourse with the Indian females ; bat the origin of which, whe-
ther American or European, has been a subject of gi-eat dispute
Thus the greater part of the colonists were either confined by posi-
tive illness, or reduced to great debility. The stock of medicines
was soon exhausted ; there was a lack of medical aid, and of the
watchful attendance which is even more important than medicine
to the sick... Every one who was well, was either engrossed by the

Chap. XL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 257

public labours, or by his own wants and cares ; having to perform
all menial offices for himself, even to the cooking of his provisions.
The public works, therefore, languished, and it was impossible to
cultivate the soil in a sufficient degree to produce a supply of the
fruits of the earth. Provisions began to fail; much of the stores
brought from Europe had been wasted on board ship, or suffered to
spoil through carelessness, and much had perished on shore, from
the warmth and humiditj^ of the climate. It seemed impossible for
the colonists to accommodate themselves to the food of the natives ;
and their infirm condition required the aliments to which they had
been accustomed. To avert an absolute famine, therefore, it was
necessary to put the people on short allowance even of the damaged
and unhealthy provisions which remained. This immediately
caused loud and factious murmurs, in which many of those in
office, who ought to have supported Columbus in his measures for
the common safety, took a leading part. Among these was father
Boyle, a priest as turbulent as he was crafty. He had been irri-
tated, it is said, by the rigid impartiality of Columbus; who in en^
forcing his salutary measures made no distinction of rank or persons,
and put the friar and his household on a short allowance, as well as
the rest of the community.

In the midst of this general discontent the bread began to grow
scarce. The stock of flour was exhausted, and there was no mode
of grinding corn but by the tedious and toilsome process of the
hand-mill. It became necessary, therefore, to erect a mill immedi-
ately, and other works were required equally important to the wel-
fare of the settlement. Many of the workmen, however, were ill,
some feigning greater sickness than they really suffered ; for there
was a general disinclination to all kind of labour, which was not to
produce immediate wealth. In this emergency, Columbus put every
healthy person in requisition; and as the cavaliers and gentlemen of
rank required food as well as the lower orders, they were called
upon to take their share in the common labour. This was consi-
dered a deadly degradation by many youthful hidalgos, of high
blood and haughty spirit, and they refused to obey the summons.

Columbus, however, was a strict disciplinarian, and felt the im-?
portance of making his authority respected. He resorted, therefore,
to strong and compulsory measures, and enforced their obedience.
This was another cause of the deep and lasting hostilities that
sprang up against him. It roused the immediate indignation of
every person of birth and rank in the colony, and drew upon him
the resentment of several of the proud families of Spain. He was
inveighed against as an arrogant and upstart foreigner, who, inflat-

Vol. I. 17 W 2

258 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Boo* VI

ed with a sudden acquisition of power, and consulting" only his own
wealth and aggrandizement, was trampling upon the rights and dig-
nities of Spanish gentlemen, and insulting the honour of the natioii.

Columbus may have been too strict and indiscriminate in his regu-
lations. There are cases in which even justice nmy become op-
pressive, and where the severity of the law should be tempered with
indulgence. What was mere toilsome labour to a common man,
became humiliation and disgrace when forced upon a Spanish cava-
lier. Many of these young men had come out, not in the pursuit
of wealth, but with romantic dreams, inspired by his own repre-
sentations; hoping no doubt to distinguish themselves by heroic
achievements and chivalrous adventure^ and to continue in the
Indias the career of arms which they had commenced in the recent
wars of Granada. Others had been brought up in soft luxurious
indulgence, in the bosoms of opulent families, and were little cal-
culated for the rude perils of the seas, the fatigues of the land, and
the hardships, the exposures and deprivations which attend a new
settlement in the wilderness. When they fell ill their case soon be-
came incurable. The ailments of the body were increased by sick-
ness of the heart. They suifered under the irritation of wounded
pride, and the morbid melancholy of disappointed hope; their sick
bed was destitute of all the tender care and soothing attention to
which they were accustomed ; and they sank into the grave in all
the sullenness of despair, cursing the day that ihey had left their
country.

The venerable Las Casas, and after him Herrera, record with
much solemnity a popular belief current in the island at the time of
his residence there, and connected with the untimely fate of these
cavaliers.

In after years, when the seat of the colony was removed from
Isabella, on account of its unhealthy situation, the city fell to ruin,
and was abandoned. Like all decayed and deserted places^ it soon
became an object of awe and superstition to the common people,
and no one ventured to enter its gates. Those who passed near it/
or hunted the wild swine which abounded in the neighbourhood, de-
clared that they heard appalling voices issue from within its walls
by night and day. The labourers became fearful, therefore, to cul-
tivate the fields adjacent. The story went, adds Las Casas, that two
Spaniards happened one day to wander among the ruined edifices of
the place. On entering one of the solitary streets, they beheld two
lows of men, evidently from their stately demeanour, hidalgos of
noble blood, and cavaliers of the court. They were richly attired in
the old Castilian mode, with rapiere by their sides, and broad tra-

Chap. XIL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 259

veiling hats, such as were worn at the time. The two men were
astonished to behold persons of their rank and appearance apparent-
ly inhabiting that desolate place, unknown to the people of the
island. They saluted them, and inquired whence they came and
when they had arrived. The cavaliers maintained a gloomy silence,
but courteously returned the salutation by raising their hands to
their sombreros or hats, in taking off which their heads came off
also, and their bodies stood decapitated. The whole phantom as-
semblage then vanished. So great was the astonishment and hor-
ror of the beholders, that they had nearly fallen dead, and remain-
ed stupified for several days.*

The foregoing legend is curious as illustrating the superstitious
character of the age. and especially of the people, with whom Co-
lumbus had to act It shows also the deep and gloomy impression
made upon the minds of the common people, by the death of these
cavaliers, which operated materially to increase the unpopularity
of Columbus; as it was mischievously represented that they had
been seduced from their homes by his delusive promises, and sacri-
ficed to his private interests.

CHAPTER XII.

I

DISTRIBUTION OF THE SPANISH FORCES IN THE INTERIOR PRE-
PARATIONS FOR A VOYAGE TO CUBA.

[1494.]

The increasing discontents of the motley population of Isabella, and
the rapid consumption of the scanty stores which remained, were
causes of great anxiety to Columbus. He was desirous of proceed-
ing on another voyage of discovery, but it was indispensable, before
sailing, to place the affairs of the island in such a state as to secure
tranquillity. He determined, therefore, to send all the men that
could be spared from Isabella, into the interior; with orders to visit
the territories of the different caciques, and to explore the island.
By this means they would be roused and animated; they would be-
come accustomed to the climate, and to the diet of the natives, and

• Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 92. MS. Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, L. 2,
C. 12.

260 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VI

such a force would be displayed as to overawe the machinations
of Caonabo, or any other hostile cacique. In pursuance of this plan,
every healthy person, not absolutely necessary to the concerns
of the city or the care of the sick, was put under arms, and a little
army mustered, consisting of two hundred and fifty crossbow-men,
one hundred and ten arquebussiers, sixteen horsemen, and twenty
officers. The general command of the forces was intrusted to Pe-
dro Margarite, in whom Columbus had great confidence, as a noble
Catalonian, and a cavalier of the order of Santiago. Alonzo de
Ojeda was to conduct the army to the fortress of St. Thomas, where
he was to succeed Margarite in the command, and the latter was to
proceed with the main body of the troops on a military tour, in
which he was particularly to explore the province of Cibao, and
subsequently the other parts of the island.

Columbus wrote a long and earnest letter of instructions to Mar-
garite, by which to govern himself in a service requiring such great
circumspection. He charged him, above all things, to observe the
greatest justice and discretion in respect to the Indians, protecting
them from all wrong and insult, and treating them in such a
manner as to secure their confidence and friendship. At the same
time, they were to be made to respect the property of the white men,
and all thefts were to be severely punished. Whatever provisions
were required from them for the subsistence of the army, were to
be fairly purchased, by persons whom the admiral appointed for
that purpose; the purchases were to be made in the presence of the
agent of the comptroller. If the Indians refused to sell the necessary
provisions, then Margarite was to interfere and compel them to do
80, acting, however, with all possible gentleness, and soothing them
by kindness and caresses. No traffic was to be allowed between
individuals and the natives, being displeasing to the sovereigns and
injurious to the service; and it was always to be kept in mind, that
their majesties were more desirous of the conversion of the natives,
than of any riches to be derived from them.

A strict discipline was to be maintained in the army, all breach
of orders to be severely punished, the men to be kept together, and
not suflfered to wander from the main body, either singly or in small
parties, so as to expose themselves to be cut off by the natives; for,
he observed, though these people were pusillanimous, yet there were
no people so apt to be perfidious and cruel as cowards, seldom spar-
ing the life of an enemy when in their power.*

These judicious instructions, which, if followed, might have pre-

Letter of Columb. Navarrete, CoUec. T. 2, Document, l^o. 72.

Chap. XII.J CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 261

served an amicable intercourse with the natives, are more especially
deservmg of notice, because Margarite disregarded them all, and by
his disobedience brought trouble on the colony, obloquy on the na-
tion, destruction on the Indians, and unmerited censure on Columbus,

In addition to the foregoing orders there were particular direc-
tions for the surprising and securing of the persons of Caonabo and
his brothers. The warlike character of that chieftain, his artful po-
licy, extensive power, and implacable hostility, rendered him a dan-
gerous enemy. The measures proposed were not the most open and
chivalrous, but Columbus thought himself justified in opposing strata-
gem to stratagem, with a subtle and sanguinary foe.

On the 9th of April Alonzo de Ojeda sallied forth from Isabella
at the head of the forces, amounting to nearly four hundred men.
On arriving at the River del Oro, in the Royal Vega, he learnt that
three Spaniards, coming from the fortress of St. Thomas, had been
robbed of their effects by five Indians, whom a neighbouring cacique
had sent to assist them in fording the river; and that the cacique,
instead of punishing the thieves had countenanced them, and shared
their booty. Ojeda was a quick impetuous soldier, whose ideas
of legislation were all of a military kind. Having caught one
of the thieves he inflicted summary justice upon him by ordering his
ears to be cut oflf in the public square of the village; he then seized
the cacique, his son and nephew, and sent them in chains to the
admiral ; which done, he pursued his march for the fortress.

In the meantime the prisoners arrived at Isabella, in deep dejec-
tion. They were accompanied by a neighbouring cacique, who,
relying upon the merit of various kindnesses which he had shown
to the Spaniards, came to plead for their forgiveness. His interces-
sions appeared to be of no avail. Columbus felt the importance
of strikmg an awe into the minds of the natives with respect to the
property of the white men. He ordered, therefore, that the prisoners
should be taken to the public square with their hands tied behind
them, their crime and punishment proclaimed by the crier, and their
heads struck off. Nor was this a punishment disproportioned to
their own ideas of justice, for we are told that the crime of theft was
held in such abhorrence among them, that though not otherwise san-
guinary in their laws, they punished it with impalement.* It is not
probable, however, that Columbus really meant to carry the sentence
into effect. At the place of execution, the prayers and tears of the
friendly cacique were redoubled, pledging himself that there should
be no repetition of the offence. The admiral at length made a

♦ Oviedo, Hist; Ind. Lib. 5, Cap. 3,

262 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VI,

merit of jrielding to his entreaties and released the prisoners. Just
at this juncture a horseman arrived from the fortress, who, in passing
by the village of the captive cacique, had found five Spaniards in
the power of the Indians. The sight of his horse had put the mul
titude to flight, though upwards of four hundred in number. He
had pursued the fugitives, wounding several with his lance, and had
brought oflf his countrj'men in triumph.

Convinced by this circumstance that nothing was to be appre-
hended from the hostilities of these timid people as long as his orders
were obeyed, and confiding in the distribution he nad made of his
forces, both for the tranquillity of the colony and the island, Colum-
bus prepared to depart on the prosecutioii of his discoveries. To
administer the affairs of the island during his absence, he formed a
junto, of which his brother Don Diego was president, and father
Boyle, Pedro Fernandez Coronal, Alonzo Sanchez Caravajal, and
Juan de Luxan, were counsellors. He left his two largest ships in
the harbour, being of too great a size and draft of water t(? explore
unknown coasts and rivers, and he took with him three carayela
the Nina or Santa Clara, the San Juan and the Cordera.

LIFE AND VOYAGES

OF

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

BOOK VII.
CHAPTER I.

VOYAGE TO THE EAST END OF CUBA.

[1494.]

The expedition of Columbus, which we are now about to record,
may appear of minor importance at the present day, leading as it
did to no grand discovery, and merely extending along the coasts of
islands with which the reader is sufficiently familiar. Some may
feel impatient at the developement of opinions and conjectures
which have long since been proved to be fallacious, and the minute
detail of exploring enterprises, undertaken in error, and which they
know must end in disappointment. But to feel these voyages pro-
perly, we must, in a manner, divest ourselves occasionally of the
information we possess, relative to the countries visited ; we must
transport ourselves to the time, and identify ourselves with Colum-
bus, thus fearlessly launching into seas, where as yet a civilized sail
had never been unfurled. We must accompany him, step by step,
in his cautious, but bold, advances along the bays and channels of
an unknown coast, ignorant of the dangers which might lurk
around or which might await him in the interminable region of mys-
. tery that still kept breaking upon his view. We must, as it were, :
consult with him as to each new reach of shadowy land, and long
line of promontory, that we see faintly emerging from the ocean and
stretching along the distant horizon. We must watch with him,
each light canoe that comes skimming the billows, to gather from the
looks, the ornaments, and the imperfect communications of its wan-
dering crew, whether those unknown lands are also savage and uncul-

264 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VH.

tivated, whether they are islands in the ocean, untrodden as yet by
civilized man, or tracts of the old continent of Asia, and wild fron-
tiers of its populous and splendid empires. We must enter into his
very thoughts and fancies, find out the data that assisted his judg-
ment and the hints that excited his conjectures, and, for a time, clothe
the regions through which we are accompanying hi;m, with the gor-
geous colouring of his own imagination. In this way we may de-
lude ourselves into participation of the delight of exploring unknown
and magnificent lands, where new wonders and beauties break upon
us at every step, and we may ultimately be able as it were from our
own familiar acquaintance, to form an opinion of the character of
this extraordinary man, and of the nature of his enterprises.

The plan of the present expedition of Columbus was to revisit the
coast of Cuba at the point where he had abandoned it on his firs*
voyage, and thence to explore it on the southern side. As has already
been observed, he supposed it to be a continent, and the extreme end
of Asia, and if so, by following its shores in the proposed direction,
he must eventually arrive at Cathay and those other rich and com-
mercial, though semi-barbarous, countries described by Mandeville
and Marco Polo.*

He set sail wilh his little squadron from the harbour of Isabella
on the 24th of April and steered to the westward. After touching
at Monte Christi, he anchored on the same day at the disastrous
harbour of La Navidad. His object in revisiting this melancholy
scene was to obtain an interview with Guacanagari, who, he under
stood, had returned to his former residence. He could not be per-
suaded of the perfidy of that cacique, so deep was the impression
made upon his heart by past kindness ; he trusted, therefore, that a
frank explanation would remove all painful doubts, and restore a
friendly intercourse, which would be highly advantageous to the
Spaniards, in their present time of scarcity and suffering, Guaca-
nagari, however, still maintained his equivocal conduct, absconding
at the sight of the ships ; and though several of his subjects assured
Columbus Chat the cacique would soon make him a visit, he did not
think it adviseable to delay his voyage on such an uncertamty.

Pursuing his course, impeded occasionally by contrary winds, he
arrived on the 29th at the port of St. Nicholas, from whence he
beheld the extreme point of Cuba, to which in his preceding voyage
he had given the name of Alpha and Omega, but which was called
by the natives Bayatiquiri, and is now known as Point Maysi,
Having crossed the channel, which is about eighteen leagues wide,

♦ Cura de losPalacios, Cap. 123. MS.

C^AP. I.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 265

Columbus sailed along the southern coast of Cuba for the distance
of twenty leagues, when he anchored in a harbour to which, from
its size, he gave the name of Puerto Grande, at present called
Guantanamo. The entrance was narrow and winding, though
deep; the harbour expanded within like a beautiful lake, in the
bosom of a wild and mountainous country, covered with trees, some
of them in blossom, others bearing fruit. Not far from the shore
were two cottages built of reeds ; and several fires blazing in various
parts of the beach, gave signs of inhabitants. Columbus landed,
therefore, attended by several men well armed, and by the young
Indian interpreter, Diego Colon, the native of the island of Gua-
nahani, who had been baptized in Spain.

On arriving at the cottages, he found them deserted ; the fires also
were abandoned, and there was not a human being to be seen. The
Indians had all fled to the woods and mountains. The sudden arrival
of the ships had spread a panic throughout the neighbourhood, and ap-
parently interrupted the preparations for a rude but plentiful banquet.
There were great quantities of fish, utias and guanas ; some suspended
to the branches of the trees, others roasting on wooden spits before
the fires. The Spaniards, accustomed of late to slender fare, fell
without ceremony on this bounteous feast, thus spread for them, as
it were, in the wilderness. They abstained, however, from the gua-
nas, which they still regarded with disgust, as a species of serpent,
though they were considered so delicate a food by the savages, that,
according to Peter Martyr, it was no more lawful for the common
people to eat of them, than of peacocks and pheasants in Spain.*

After their repast, as the Spaniards were roving about the vicinity^
they beheld about seventy of the natives collected on the top of a
lofty rock, and looking down upon them with great awe and amaze-
ment. On attempting to approach them, they instantly disappeared
among the woods and clefts of the mountain. One, however, more
bold or more curious than the rest, lingered on the brow of the pre-
cipice, gazing with timid wonder at the Spaniards, partly encouraged
by their friendly signs, but ready in an instant to bound away after
his companions.

By order of Columbus the young Lucayan interpreter advanced
and accosted him. The expressions of friendship, in his own lan-
guage, soon dispelled the apprehensions of the wondering savage.
He came to meet the interpreter, and being informed by him of the
good intentions of the Spaniards, hastened to communicate the
intelligence to his comrades. In a httle while they were seen

* P. Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 3

266 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VII.

descending from their rocks, and issuing from their forests; ap-
proaching the strangers with great gentleness and veneration.
Through means of the interpreter, Columbus learnt that thej had
been sent to the coast by their cacique, to procure fish for a solemn
banquet which he was about to give to a neighbouring chieftain,
and that they roasted the fish, to prevent it from spoiling in the trans-
portation. They seemed to be of the same gentle and pacific cha-
racter with the natives of Hayti. The ravages that had been made
among their provisions by the hungry Spaniards, gave them no con-
cern, for they observed that one night's fishing would replace all the
loss. Columbus, however, in his usual spirit of justice, ordered that
ample compensation should be made them; and, shaking hands,
they parted mutually well pleased.*

Leaving this harbour on the 1st of May, the admiral continued
to the westward, sailing along a mountainous coast, adorned by
beautiful rivers, and indented by those commodious harbours for
which this island is so remarkable. As he advanced, the country
grew more fertile and populous. The natives crowded to the shores,
man, woman, and child, gazing with astonishment at the ships,
which glided gently along at no great distance. They held up
fruits and provisions, inviting the Spaniards to land ; others came
off in canoes, bringing cassava bread, fish, and calabashes of water,
not for sale, but as offerings to the strangers, whom, as usual, they
considered celestial beings descended from the skies. Columbus
distributed the customary presents among them, which were received
with transports of joy and gratitude. After continuing some dis-
tance along the coast, he came to another gulf or deep bay, narrow
at the entrance, and expanding within, surrounded by a rich and
beautiful country. There were lofty mountains sweeping up from
the sea, but the shores were enlivened by numerous villages, and
cultivated to such a degree as to resemble gardens and orchards.
In this harbour, which it is probable was the same at present called
St. Jago de Cuba, Columbus anchored and passed a night, over-
whelmed, as usual, with the simple hospitality of the natives.!

On inquiring of the people of this coast afteT gold, they uniformly
pointed to the south, and as far as they could be understood, inti-
mated that a great island lay in that direction, where it abounded.
The admiral, in the course of his first voyage, had received informa-
tion of such an island, which some of his followers had thought
might be Babeque, the object of so much anxious search, and chi-
merical expectation. He had felt a strong inclination to diverge

* Peter Martyr, ubi sup. t Cura de los Palacios, Cap. 124. MS.

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 267

from his course, and go in quest of it, and this desire increased with
every new report. On the following day, therefore, (the 3d of May,)
after standing westward to a high cape, he suddenly turned his
prow directly south ; and abandoning for a time the coast of Cuba,
Bteered off into the broad sea, in quest of this reported island.

CHAPTER II.

DISCOVERY OF JAMAICA.
[1494.]

Columbus had not sailed many leagues before the blue summits
of a vast and lofty island at a great distance, began to rise like
clouds above the horizon. It was two days and nights, however,
before he reached its shores, filled with admiration, as he gradually
drew near, at its vast size, the beauty of its mountains, the majesty
of its forests, the fertility of its valleys, and the great number of vil
iages with which the whole face of the country was animated.
' On approaching the land, at least seventy canoes, filled with sa-
vages gaily painted and decorated with feathers, sallied forth more
than a league from shore. They advanced in warlike array,
uttering loud yells, and brandishing lances of pointed wood. The
mediation of the interpreter, and a few presents to one of the canoes
which ventured nearer than the rest, soothed this angry armada,
p,nd the squadron pursued its course unmolested. Columbus an-
chored in a harbour about the centre of the island, to which, from
the great beauty of the surrounding country, he gave the name of
Santa Gloria.*

On the following morning he weighed anchor at daybreak, and
coasted westward, in search of a sheltered harbour, where his ship
could be careened and caulked, as it leaked considerably. After
proceeding a few leagues, he found one apparently suitable for the
purpose. On sending a boat to sound the entrance, two large ca-
noes, filled with Indians, issued forth to oppose their landing, hurl-
ing their lances, but from such distance as to fall short of the Span-
iards. Not wishing to proceed to any act of hostihty that might

* Curade los Palacios, Cap. 125.

268 UPE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VH.

prevent future intercourse, Columbus ordered the boat to return on
board, and, finding there was sufficient depth of water for his ship,
entered and anchored in the harbour. Immediately the whole beach
was covered with Indians, painted with a variety of colours, but
chiefly black; some partly clothed with palm leaves, and all wear-
ing tufts and coronets of gay tropical feathers. Unlike the hospi-
table islanders of Cuba and Hayti, these appeared to partake of the
warlike character of the Caribs, manifesting the fiercest hostility,
hurling their javelins at the ships, and making the shores resound
with their yells and war-whoops.

The admiral reflected that further forbearance might be mistaken
for cowardice. It was necessary to careen his ship, and to send men
on shore for a supply of water ; but previously it was adviseable to
strike an awe into the savages, that might prevent any molestation
from them. As the caravels could not approach sufficiently near to
the beach where the Indians were collected, he dispatched the boats
well manned and armed. These rowing close to the shore let fly a
volley of arrows from their crossbows, by which several Indians
were wounded, and the rest thrown into confusion. The Span-
iards then sprang on shore and put the whole multitude to flight ;
giving another discharge of their crossbows, and letting loose upon
them a dog, who pursued them with sanguinary fury.* This is the
first instance of the use of dogs against the natives, which were
afterwards employed with such cruel effect by the Spaniards in their
Indian wars.

Columbus now landed and took formal possession of the island, to
which he gave the name of Santiago ; but fortunately it has re-
tained its original Indian name of Jamaica. The harbour, from its
commodiousness, he called Puerto Bueno; it was in the form of a
horse-shoe, and a river entered the sea in its vicinity, f

During the rest of the day the neighbourhood remained silent and
deserted. On the following morning, however, before sunrise, six
Indians were seen on the shore, making signal of amity. They
proved to be envoys sent by the caciques with proffers of peace and
friendship. These were cordially reciprocated by the admiral; pre-
sents of trinkets were sent to the chieftains ; and in a little while
the harbour again swarmed with the naked and painted multitude ;
bringing abundance .of provisions, similar in kind, but superior in
quality, to those of the other islands.

During three days that the ships remained in this harbour, the
most amicable intercourse was kept up with the natives. They ap*

1

♦ Cura do kw Palacios, Cap. 125. i Hist, del Almirante, ubi sup.

Chap. IL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 269

peared to be more ingenious, as well as more warlike, than their
neighbom-s of Cuba and Hayti. Their canoes were better con-
structed, being ornamented with carving and painting at the bow
and stern. Many were of great size, though formed from the trunks
of single trees ; often from a species of the mahogany. Columbus
measured one, which was ninety-six feet long, and eight broad,*
hollowed out of one of those magnificent trees, which rise like ver-
dant towers amidst the rich forests of the tropics. Every cacique
prided himself on possessing a large canoe of the kind, which he
seemed to regard as his ship of state. It is curious to remark the
apparently innate difference between these island tribes. The na-
tives of Porto Rico, though surrounded by adjacent islands, and sub-
ject to frequent incursions of the Caribs, were yet of a pacific cha-
racter, and possessed very few canoes; while Jamaica, separated
by distance from intercourse with other islands, protected in the same
way from the dangers of invasion, and embosomed, as it were, in a
peaceful mediterranean sea, was inhabited by a warlike race, and
surpassed all the other islands in its maritime armaments.

His ship being repaired, and a supply of water taken in, Columbus
made sail, and continued along the coast to the westward, so close
to the shore, that the little squadron was continually surrounded by
the canoes of the natives ; who came off from every bay, and river,
and headland ; no longer manifesting hostility, but anxious to ex-
change any thing they possessed for European trifles. After pro-
ceeding about twenty-four leagues, they approached the western
extremity of the island, where, the coast bending to the south, the
wind became unfavourable for their further progress' along the
shore. Being disappointed in his hopes of finding gold in Jamaica,
and the breeze being fair for Cuba, Columbus determined to return
thither, and not to leave it, until he had explored its coast to a suffi-
cient distance to determine the question, whether it were terra firma
or an island.! To the last place at which he touched in Jamaica,
he gave the name of the Gulf of BueU'tiempo, or (Fair Weather.)
on account of the propitious wind which blew for Cuba. Just as
he was about to sail, a young Indian came off to the ship, and begged
that the Spaniards would take him with them to their country. He
was followed by his relatives and friends, who endeavoured by the
most affecting supplications to dissuade him from his purpose. For
some time he was distracted between concern for the distress of his
family, and an ardent desire to see the home of these wonderful
strangers, which his imagination pictured as a region of celestial

* Cura de los Palacios, Cap. 124. t Hist, del Alrmrante, Cap. 54.

X 3

S7a LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VH.

delights. Curiosity, and the youthful propensity to rove prevailed j
he tore himself from the embraces of his friends, and that he might
not behold the tears of his sisters, hid himself in a secret part of the
ship. Touched by this scene of natural affection, and pleased with
the enterprising and confiding spirit of the youth, Columbus gave
orders that he should be treated with especial kindness.*

It would have been interesting to have known something more of
the fortunes of this curious savage, and of the impressions made
upon so lively a mind by a first sight of the wonders of civilization.
Whether the land of the white men equalled his hopes ; whether, as
is usual with savages, he pined amidst the splendours of cities for his
native forests, and whether he ever returned to the arms of his family.
The early Spanish historians seem never to have interested them-
selves in the feelings or fortunes of these first visiters from the new
world to the old. No further mention is made of this youthful ad-
venturer.

CHAPTER III.

RETURN TO CUBA NAVIGATION AMONG THE ISLANDS CALLED

THE queen's GARDEN.

[1494.]

Setting sail from the gulf of Buen-tiempo, the squadron once more
Steered for the island of Cuba, and on the 18th of May arrived at a
great cape, to which Columbus gave the name of Cabo de la Cruz,
which it still retains. Here, landing at a large village, he was well
received and entertained by the cacique and his subjects, who had
long since heard of himself and his ships. In fact, Columbus found,
from the report of this chieftain, that the numerous Indians who had
visited his ships during his cruise along the northern coast, in his
first voyage, had spread the story far and near, of these wonderful
visiters, who had descended from the sky, and had filled the whole
island with rumours and astonishment, f The admiral endeavoured
to ascertain from this cacique and his people, whether Cuba was an
island or a continent. They all replied that it was an island, but of

♦ Hist, del Almirante, Cap* 54. i Cura de los Palacios^ C. 126.

Chap. HI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 271

infinite extent ; for they declared that no one had ever seen the end
of it. This reply, while it manifested their ignorance of the nature
of a continent, left the question still in doubt and obscurity. The
Indian name of this province of Cuba was Macaca.

Resuming his course to the west, on the following day Columbus
came to where the coast suddenly swept away to the northeast for
many leagues, and then curved round again to the west, forming an
immense bay, or rather gulf Here he was assailed by a violent
storm, accompanied by awful thunder and Hghtning; which, in
these latitudes, seem to rend the very heavens. Fortunately the
storm was not of long duration, or his situation would have been
perilous in the extreme ; for he found the navigation rendered diffi-
cult by numerous keys* and sand banks. These increased as he
advanced, until the mariner stationed at the mast-head beheld the
sea, as far as the eye could reach, completely studded with small
islands. Some of them were low, naked and sandy, others covered
with verdure, and others tufted with lofty and beautiful forests.
They were of various sizes, from one to four leagues, and were gene-
rally the more fertile and elevated the nearer they were to Cuba.
Finding them to increase in number, so as to render it impossible to
give names to each, the admiral gave this whole labyrinth of islands,
which in a manner enamelled the face of the ocean with variegated
verdure, the name of the dueen's Gardens. He thought at first of
leaving this archipelago on his right, and standing further out to
sea ; but he called to mind that Sir John Mandeville and Marco
Polo had mentioned that the coast of Asia was fringed with islands,
to the amount of several thousand. He persuaded himself that he
was among that cluster ; and resolved not to lose sight of the main
land, by following which, if it were really Asia, he must soon arrive
at the dominions of the Grand Khan.

Entering among these islands, therefore, Columbus soon became
entangled in the most perplexed navigation, in which he was ex-
posed to continual perils and difficulties, from sand banks, counter
currents, and sunken rocks. The ships were obliged, in a manner,
to grope their way, with men stationed at the mast-head, and the
lead continually going. Sometimes they were obliged to shift their
course, within the hour, to all points of the compass ; sometimes they
were straitened in a narrow channel, where it was necessary to
lower all sail, and tow the vessels out, lest they should run aground ;
notwithstanding all which precautions, they frequently touched
upon sand banks, and were extricated with great difficulty.

* Keys, from cayos, rocks, which occasionally form small islands on the coasts
of America. ' x

272 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VII.

The variableness of the weather added to the embarrassment of
the navigation ; though after a httle while it began to assume some
method in its very caprices. In the morning the wind rose in the
east with the sun, and following his course through the day, died
away at sunset in the west. Heavy clouds gathered with the ap-
proach of evening, sending forth sheets of lightning, and distant
peals of thunder, and menacing a furious tempest ; but as the moon
rose, the whole mass broke away, part melting in a shower of rain,
and part dispersed by a breeze which sprang up from the land.

There was much in the character of the surrounding scenery, to
favour the idea of Columbus that he was in the Asiatic archipelago.
As the ships glided along the smooth and glassy canals which se-
parated these verdant islands, the magnificence of their vegetation,
the soft odours wafted from flowers and blossoms and aromatic
shrubs, and the splendid plumage of the scarlet cranes, or rather
flamingoes, which abounded in the meadows, and of other tropical
birds which fluttered among the groves, resembled what is described
of oriental climes.

These islands were generally uninhabited. They found a consi-
derable village, however, on one of the largest, where they landed on
the 22d of May. The houses were abandoned by their inhabitants,
who appeared to depend principally on the sea for their subsistence.
Large quantities of fish were found in their dwellings, and the adja-
cent shore was covered with the shells of tortoises. There were also
domesticated parrots, and scarlet cranes, and a number of dumb
dogs, which it was after wads found they fattened as an article of
food. To this island the admiral gave the name of Santa Marta.

In the course of his voyage among these islands, Columbus
beheld one day a number of the natives in a canoe, on the still sur-
face of one of the cl»annels, occupied in fishing, and was struck
with the singular means they employed. They had a small fish, the
flat head of which was furnished with numerous suckers, by which
it attached itself so firmly to any object as to be torn in pieces
rather than abandon its hold. Tying a line of great length to the
tail of this fish, the Indians permitted it to swim at large ; it genC'
rally kept near the surface of the water until it perceived its prey,
when darting down swiftly it attached itself by the suckers to the
throat of the fish, or to the under shell of a tortoise ; nor did it relin-
quish its prey until both were drawn up by the fishermen, and taken
out of the water. In this way the Spaniards witnessed the taking
of a tortoise of immense size ; and Fernando Columbus affirms that
he himself saw a shark caught in this manner on the coast of Vera-
gua. The fact has been corroborated by the accounts of various

Chap. III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 273

voyagers ; and the same mode of fishing is said to be employed or
the eastern coast of Africa, at Mosambique and at Madagascar.
" Thus," it has been observed, " savage people, who probably
have never held communication with each other, oiFer the most
striking analogies in their modes of exercising their empire over
animals."*

These fishermen came on board of the ships in a frank and fear-
less manner. They furnished the Spaniards with a supply of fish,
and would cheerfully have given them every thing they possessed.
To the admiral's inquiries concerning the geography of these parts,
they said that the sea was full of islands to the south and to the west,
but as to Cuba it continued running to the westward without any
termination.

Having extricated himself from this archipelago, Columbus stood
for a mountainous part of the island of Cuba, about fourteen
leagues distant, where he landed at a large village on the 3d of June.
Here he was received with that kindness and amity which distin-
guished the inhabitants of Cuba, whom he extolled above all the
other islanders for their mild and pacific character. Their very ani-
mals, he said, were tamer, as well as larger, and better than those of
the other islands. Among the various articles of food, which the
natives brought with joyful alacrity from all parts to the Spaniards,
were stockdoves of uncommon size and flavour. Perceiving some-
thing peculiar in their taste, Columbus ordered the crops of several
newly killed to be opened, in which were found sweet spices, these he
considered favourable indications of the productions of the country.

While the crews of the boats were procuring water and provi-
sions, Columbus sought to gather information from the venerable ca-
cique, and several of the old men of the village. They told him
that the name of their province was Ornofay ; that further on to
the westward the sea was again covered ai ith innumerable islands,
and had but little depth. As to Cuba, none of them had ever heard
that it had an end to the westward ; forty moons would not suffice
to reach to its extremity ; in fact, they considered it interminable.
They observed, however, that the admiral would receive more ample
mformation from the inhabitants of Mangon, an adjacent provmce
which lay towards the west.

The quick apprehension of Columbus was struck with the sound
of this name; it resembled that of Mangi, the richest province of
the Grand Khan, bordering on the ocean. He made further inqui-
ries concerning this region of Mangon, and understood the Indians

* Humboldt Essai Politique sur Pile de Cuba, T. 1, p. 364.

Vol. I. 18

274 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VH.

to say, that it was inhabited by people who had tails like animals,
and wore garments to conceal them. He recollected that Sir John
Mandeville, in his account of the remote parts of the east, had re-
corded a story of the same kind as current among certain naked
tribes of Asia, and told by them in ridicule of the garments of their
civilized neighbours, which they could only conceive useful in con-
cealing some bodily defect.* He became, therefore, more confident
than ever, that by keeping along the coast to the westward, he
should eventually arrive at the civilized realms of Asia. He flat-
tered himself with the hopes of finding this region of Mangon to be
the rich province of Mangi, and its people with tails and garment^
the long-robed inhabitants of the empire of Tartary.

CHAPTER IV.

COASTINe OF THE SOUTHERN SIPE OF CUBA.

[1494.]

Animated by one of the pleasing illusions of his ardent imagina-
tion, Columbus pursued his voyage, with a prosperous breeze, along
the supposed continent of Asia. He was now opposite to that part
of the southern side of Cuba, where, for nearly thirty-five leagues,
the navigation is unembarrassed by banks and islands. To his left,
was the broad and open sea, whose dark blue colour gave token of
ample depth; to his right extended the richly wooded province of
Ornofay, gradually sweeping up into a range of interior mountains;
the verdant coast watered by innumerable streams, and studded with
Indian villages. The appearance of the ships spread wonder and
joy along the seabord. The natives hailed with acclamations the
arrival on their shores of these wonderful beings, whose fame had
circulated more or less throughout the island, and who brought with
them the blessings of heaven. They came off swimming, or in their
canoes, to offer the fruits and productions of the land, and regarded the
white men almost with adoration. After the usual evening shower,
when the breeze blew from the shore, and brought qS the sweetness
of the land, it bore with it also the distant songs of the natives, and

* Cura de los Palacios, Cap. 127.

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 275

the sound of their rude music, as they were probably celebrating
with their national chants and dances, the arrival of the white men.
So delightful were these spicy odours and cheerful sounds to Co-
lumbus, who was at present open to all pleasurable influences, that
he declared the night passed away as a single hour.*

It is impossible to resist noticing the striking contrasts which are
sometimes presented by the lapse of time. The coast here described,
so populous and animated, rejoicing in the visit of the discoverers, is
the same that extends westward of the city of Trinidad, along the
gulf of Xagua. All is now silent and deserted; civilization which
has covered some parts of Cuba with glittering cities, has rendered
this a solitude. The whole race of Indians has long since passed
away; pining and perishing beneath the domination of the strangers
whom they welcomed so joyfully to their shores. Before me lies
the account of a night recently passed on this very coast, by a cele-
brated traveller; but with what different feelings from those of Co-
lumbus! " I passed," says he, " a great part of the night upon the
deck. What deserted coasts ! not a light to announce the cabin of a
fisherman. From Batabano to Trinidad, a distance of fifty leagues,
there does not exist a village. Yet in the time of Columbus this
land was inhabited even along the margin of the sea. When pits
are digged in the soil, or the torrents plough open the surface of the
earth, there are often found hatchets of stone and vessels of copper,
reliques of the ancient inhabitants of the island!"!

For the greater part of two days the ships swept along this open
part of the coast, traversing the wide gulf of Xagua. At length
they came to where the sea became suddenly as white as milk, and
perfectly turbid, as though flour had been mingled with it. This is
caused by fine sand, or calcareous particles, raised from the bottom
at certain depths, by the agitation of the waves and currents. It
spread great alarm through the ships, which was heightened by
their soon finding themselves surrounded by banks and keys, and in
shallow water. The further they proceeded, the more perilous be-
came their situation. They were in a narrow channel where they
had not room to turn and to beat out ; where there was no hold for
their anchors, and where they were violently tossed about by the
winds, and in danger of being stranded. At length they came to a
small island, where they found tolerable anchorage. Here they re-
mained for the night in great anxiety; many were for abandoning
all further prosecution of the enterprise, thinking that they might

* Cura de los Palacios.

t Humboldt, Essai Pol. sur Cuba, T. 2, p. 25.

276 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VII.

esteem themselves fortunate should they be able to return from
whence they came. Columbus, however, could not consent to re-
linquish his voyage, now that he thought himself in the route for a
brilliant discovery. The next morning, he dispatched the smallest
caravel to explore this new labyrinth of islands, and to penetrate to
the main land in quest of fresh water, of which the ships were in
great need. The caravel returned with a report that the canals and
keys of this group were as numerous and intricate as those of the
Gardens of the Glueen ; that the main land was bordered by deep
marshes and a muddy coast, where the mangrove trees grew within
the water, and so close together that they formed, as it were, an im-
penetrable wall; that within, the land appeared fertile and mountain-
ous; and columns of smoke rising from various parts gave signs of
numerous inhabitants.*

Under the guidance of this caravel, Columbus now ventured to
penetrate this little archipelago; working his way with great cau-
tion, toil, and peril, among the narrow channels which separated the
sand banks and islands, and frequently getting aground. At length
he reached a low point of Cuba, to which he gave the name of Point
Serafin; within which the coast swept off to the east, forming so
deep a bay, that he could not see the land at the bottom. To the
north, however, there were mountains afar off, and the intermediate
space was clear and open ; the islands in sight lying to the south
and west; a description which agrees with that of the great bay of
Batabano. Columbus now steered for these mountains, with a fail
wind, and three fathoms of water, and on the following day anchor
ed on the coast near a beautiful grove of palm-trees.

Here a party was sent on shore for wood and water, and found
two living springs in the midst of the grove. While they were em-
ployed cutting wood, and filling their water casks, an archer strayed
into the forest with his crossbow in search of game, but soon returned
flying with great terror, and calling loudly for aid upon his com-
rades. He declared that he had not proceeded far, when he sud-
denly espied through an opening glade a man in a long white dress,
so like a friar of the order of St. Mary of Mercy, that at first sight
he took him for the chaplain of the admiral. Two others followed,
in white tunics reaching to their knees, and the three were of as
fair complexions as Europeans. Behind these appeared many more,
to the number of thirty, armed with clubs and lances. They made
no signs of hostility, but remained quiet, the man in the long white
dress alone advancing to accost him; but he was so alarmed at their

* Cura delos Palacios, Cap. 128.

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 277

number, that he had fled amain, to seek the aid of his compa-
nions. The latter, however, were so alarmed at the reported num-
ber of armed natives, that they had not courage to seek them, or to
await their coming, but hurried with all speed to the ships.

When Columbus heard this story he was greatly rejoiced, for he
concluded that these must be the clothed inhabitants of Mangon, of
whom he had recently heard, and that he had at length come upon
the traces of a civilized people, if not within the very borders of the
rich province of Mangi.

On the following day he dispatched a party of armed men in quest
of these people clad in white, with orders to penetrate, if necessary,
forty miles into the interior, until they met with some of the inha-
bitants; for he thought the populous and cultivated parts might he
distant from the sea, and that there might be towns and cities be-
yond the wild woods and mountains of the coast. The party pene-
trated through a belt of thick forest which girdled the shore, and
then entered upon a great plain or savannah, covered with rank
grass and herbage as tall as ripe corn, and destitute of any road or
fbotpath. Here they were so entangled and fettered as it were, by
matted grass and creeping vegetation, that it was with the utmost
difficulty they could penetrate the distance of a mile, when they had
to abandon the attempt, and return weary and exhausted to the
ships.

Another party was sent on the succeeding day, to penetrate in a
different direction. They had not proceeded far from the coast,
when they beheld the footprints of some large animal with claws,
which some supposed the tracks of a lion, others of a griffin,* but
which were probably made by the alligators which abound in that
vicinity. Dismayed at the sight, they hastened back towards the
seaside. In their way they passed through a forest, with lawns
and meadows opening in various parts of it, in which were flocks of
cranes, twice the size of those of Europe. Many of the trees and
shrubs sent forth those aromatic odours which were continually de-
ceiving them with the hope of finding oriental spices. They saw
also abundance of grape vines, that beautiful feature in the vegeta-
tion of the New World. Many of these crept to the summits of the
highest trees, overwhelming them with foliage, twisting themselves

* Cardinal Pierre de AUiaco, a favourite author with Columbus, speaks re-
peatedly in his Imago Mundi, of the existence of Griffins in India ; and Glanville,
whose work, de Proprietatibus Rerum, was familiar to Columbus, describes them
OS having: the body and claws of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle ; and as
infesting the mountains, which abound with gold and precious stones, so as to rer.-
Uer the access to them extremely perilous. D. Proprietat. Rerum, h- 18, C. 150.

Y

278 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VII

from branch to branch, and bearing ponderous clusters of juicy
grapes. The party returned to the ships equally unsuccessful with
their predecessors, and pronouncing the country wild and impene-
trable, though exceedingly fertile. As a proof of its abundance,
they brought great clusters of the wild grapes, which Columbus
afterwards transmitted to the sovereigns, together with a specimen
of the water of the White Sea through which he had passed.

As no tribe of Indians was ever discovered in Cuba wearing
clothing, it is probable that the story of the men in white origi-
nated in some error of the archer ; who, full of the idea of the mys-
terious inhabitants of Mangon, may have been startled, in the course
of his lonely wanderings in the forest, by one of those flocks of
cranes which it seems abounded in the neighbourhood. These
birds, like the flamingoes, feed in company, with one stationed at a
distance as sentinel. When seen through the openings of the wood-
lands, standing in rows along a smooth savannah or in a glassy
pool of water, their height and erectness give them, at the first
glance, the semblance of human figures. Whether the story origi-
nated in error or in falsehood, it made a deep impression on Colum-
bus; who was predisposed to be deceived, and to believe every thing
that favoured the illusion of his being on the confines of a civilized
country.

After he had explored the deep bay to the east, and ascertamed
that it was not an arm of the sea, he continued westward ; and pro-
ceeding about nine leagues, came to an inhabited shore, where he
had communications with several of the natives. They were naked,
as usual ; but that he attributed to their being mere fishernten, in-
habiting a savage coast ; he presumed the civilized regions to lie in
the interior. As his Lucayan interpreter did not understand the
language, or rather dialect, of this part of Cuba, all his communi-
cations with the natives had to be through the erroneous medium of
signs and gesticulations. Deluded by his own favourite hypothesis,
he understood from them, that among certain mountains which he
saw far oflf to the west, there was a powerful king, who reigned in
great state over manj^ populous provinces; that he wore a white
garment which swept the ground ; that he was called a saint;* and
that he never spoke, but communicated his orders to his subjects by
signs, which were implicitly obeyed. f In all this we see the busy
imagination of the admiral interpreting every thing into unison with

* Que le llamaban Santo 6 que traia tunica bianca que le arrastra por el suelo^
Cura de los Palacios, Cap. 128.
+ Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, L. 2, Cap. 14.

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 279

his preconceived ideas. Las Casas assures us that there was no ca-
cique ever known in the island who wore garments, or answered in
other respects to this description. This king with a saintly title,
was probably nothing more than a reflected image haunting the
mind of Columbus, of that mysterious potentate, Prester John, who
had long figured in the narrations of all eastern travellers, sometimes
as a monarch, sometimes as a priest ; the situation of whose empire
and court was always a matter of doubt and contradiction, and had
recently become again an object of curious inquiry.

The information derived from these people concerning the coast
to the westward was entirely vague. They said that it continued
for at least twenty days' journey, but whether it terminated there,
they did not know. They appeared but Httle informed of any thing
out of their immediate neighbourhood. Taking an Indian from this
place as a guide, Columbus steered for the distant mountains said to
be inhabited by this cacique in white raiment, hoping they might
prove the confines of a more civilized country. He had not gone
far before he was involved in the usual perplexities of keys, shelves,
and sand banks. The vessels frequently stirred up the sand and
slime from the bottom of the sea ; at other times they were almost
imbedded in narrow channels, where there was no room to tack, and
it was necessary to drag them forward by means of the capstern, to
their great injury. At one time they came to where the sea was
almost covered with tortoises ; at another time flights of cormorants
and wood-pigeons darkened the sun ; and one day the whole air
was filled with clouds of gaudy butterflies, until dispelled by the
evening shower.

When they approached the mountainous region, they found the
coast bordered by drowned lands, or morasses, and beset by such
'thick forests, that it was impossible to penetrate to the interior. They
were several days seeking fresh water, of which they were in great
want. At length they found a spring in a grove of palm-trees, and
near it shells of the pearl-oyster, from which Columbus thought
there might be a valuable fishery for pearls in the neighbourhood.

While thus cut oflf from all intercourse with the interior by a belt
of swamp and forest, the country appeared to be well peopled. Co-
lumns of smoke ascended from various parts, which grew more
frequent as they advanced, until they rose from every rock and
woody height. The Spaniards were at a loss to determine whether
these arose from villages and towns, oi whether from signal fires, to
give notice of the approach of the ships, and to alarm the country ;
such as were usual on European seaboard, when an enemy was
descried hovering in the vicinity.

280

LIFE AND VOYAGES OF

[Book Vll

For several days Columbus continued exploring this perplexed
and lonely coast, whose intricate channels are seldom visited, even
at the present day, excepting by the solitary and lurking bark of the
smuggler. As he proceeded, however, he found that the coast took
a general bend to the southwest. This accorded precisely with the
descriptions given by Marco Polo of the remote coast of Asia. He
now became fully assured that he was on that part of the Asiatic
continent which lies beyond the boundaries of the old world, as laid
down by Ptolemy. Let him but continue his course, he thought,
and he must surely arrive to the point where this range of coast ter-
minated in the Aurea Chersonesus of the Ancients.*

The ardent imagination of Columbus was always sallying in the
advance, and suggesting some splendid track of enterprise. Com-
bining his present conjectures as to his situation, with the imperfect
lights of geography, he conceived a triumphant route for his return
to Spain, Doubling the Aurea Chersonesus, he should emerge into
the seas frequented by the Ancients, and bordered by the luxurious
nations of the east. Stretching across the gulf of the Ganges, he
might pass by Trapoban, and continuing on to the straits of Babel-
mandel, arrive on the shores of the Red sea. From thence, he
might make his way by land to Jerusalem, take shipping at Joppa,
and traverse the Mediterranean to Spain. Or should the route from
Ethiopia to Jerusalem be deemed too perilous from savage and war-,
like tribes, or should he not choose to separate from his vessels, he
might sail round the whole coast of Africa, pass triumphantly by
the Portuguese, in their midway groping along the shores of Gui-
nea, and after having thus circumnavigated the globe, furl his
adventurous sails at the pillars of Hercules, the ne flus ultra of the
ancient world ! Such was the soaring meditation of Columbus, as
recorded by one of his intimate associates;! nor is there any thing*
surprising in his ignorance of the real magnitude of our globe.
The mechanical admeasurement of a known part of its circle, has
rendered its circumference a familiar fact in our day; but in his
time it still remained a problem with the most profound philosophers.

* The present peninsula of Malacca.
+ Cura de los Palacios, Cap. 123. MS*

QiAP. v.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

CHAPTER V.

RETURN OP COLUMBUS ALONG THE SOUTHERN €OAST OP CUBA*

[1494.]

The opinion of Columbus that he was coasting the continent of
Asia, and approaching the confines of eastern civilization, was
shared by all his fellow-voyagers, among whom were several able
and experienced navigators. They were far, however, from sharing
his enthusiasm. They were to derive no glory from the success of
the enterprise, and they shrunk from its increasing difficulties and
perils. The ships were strained and crazed by the various injuries
they had received in running frequently aground. Their cables
and rigging were worn; their provisions were growing scanty, a
great part of the biscuit was spoiled by the sea- water, which oozed
in through innumerable leaks. The crews were worn out by inces-
sant labour, and disheartened at the appearance of the sea before
them, which continued to exhibit a mere wilderness of islands.
They remonstrated therefore against persisting any longer in this
f voyage. They had already followed the coast far enough to satisfy
their minds that it was a continent, and though they doubted not
that civilized regions lay in the route they were pursuing, yet their
1^' provisions might be exhausted, and their vessels disabled before they
could arrive at those countries,

Columbus, as his imagination cooled, was himself aware of the
inadequacy of his vessels to the voyage he had contemplated ; but
he felt it of importance to his fame, and to the popularity of his
enterprises, to furnish satisfactory proofs that the land he had dis-
covered was a continent. He therefore persisted four days longer
in exploring the coast, as it bent to the southwest, until every one
declared that there could no longer be a doubt on the subject, for
that it was impossible so vast a continuity of land could belong to a
mere island. The admiral was determined, however, that the fact
should not rest merely on his own assertion, having had recent
proofs of a disposition to gainsay his statements, and depreciate his
discoveries. He sent round, therefore, a public notary, Fernan
Perez de Luna, to each of the vessels, accompanied by four witnesses

Y2

282 UFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VH

who demanded formally of every person on board, from the captain
to the ship-boy, whether he had any doubt that the land before him
was a continent, the beginning and end of the Indias, by which
any one might return overland to Spain, and by pursuing the coast
of which, they would soon arrive among civilized people. If any
one entertained a doubt, he was called upon to express it, that it
might be removed. On board of the vessels were several expe-
rienced navigators, and men well versed in the geographical know-
ledge of the times. They examined their maps and charts, and the
reckonings and journals of the voyage, and after deliberating ma-
turely, declared under oath that they had no doubt upon the subject.
They grounded their belief principally upon their having coasted
for three hundred and thirty-five leagues,* an extent unheard of as
appertaining to an island ; while the land continued to stretch for-
ward interminably, bending towards the south, conformably to the
descriptions of the remote coast of India.

Lest they should subsequently, out of malice or caprice, contra-
dict the opinion thus solemnly avowed, it was proclaimed by the no-
tary, that whoever should offend in such manner, if an officer,
should pay a penalty of ten thousand maravedis ; if a ship-boy, or a
person of like rank, he should receive a hundred lashes, and have his
tongue cut out. A formal statement was afterwards drawn up by
the notary, including the depositions and names of every individual,
which document still exists, f This singular process took place
near that deep bay, called by some the Bay of Philipina, by others
of Cortes. At this very time, as has been remarked, a ship-boy
from the mast-head, might have overlooked the group of islands to
the south, and have beheld the open sea beyond.}: Two or three
days further sail would have carried Columbus round the extremity
of Cuba, would have dispelled his illusion, and might have given
an entirely different course to his subsequent discoveries. In his
present conviction he lived and died ; believing to his last hour, that
Cuba was the extremity of the Asiatic continent.

Relinquishing all further investigation of the coast, he stood to
the southeast on the 13th of June, and soon came in sight of a large
island, with mountains rising majestically among tliis labyrinth of
little keys. To this he gave the name of Evangelista : it is at pre-
sent known as the island of Pines, and is celebrated for its excel-

* This calculation evidently includes all the courses of the ships in their various
tacks along the coast. Columbus could hardly have made such an error as to have
given this extent to the southern side of the island, even including the inflexions
•f the coast,

* Navarrete, CoUec. T. 8. t Munoz, Hist, N. Mundo, L. 5, p. 217-

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 283

lent mahogany. Here he anchored and took in a supply of wood
and water. He then stood to the south along the shores of the island,
hoping, by turning its southern extremity, to find an open route east-
ward of Hispaniola, and intending, on his way, to run along the
southern side of Jamaica. He had not proceeded far before he came
to what he supposed to be a channel opening to the southeast, be-
tween Evangelista and some opposite island. After entering for
some distance, however, he found himself enclosed in a deep bay,
being the lagoon of Siguanca, which penetrates far into the island,

Observing dismay painted on the faces of all his crew, at finding
themselves thus land-locked, and almost destitute of provisions,
Columbus cheered them with encouraging words, and resolved to
extricate himself from this perplexed maze, by retracing his course
along Cuba. Leaving the lagoon, therefore, he returned to his last
anchoring place; and from thence set sail on the 25th of June, na-
vigating back through the groups of islands between Evangelista
and Cuba, and across a tract of the White Sea, which had so much
appalled his people. Here he experienced a repetition of the anxi-
eties, the perils, and the toils, which had beset him in his advance
along the coast. The crews were alarmed by the frequent changes
in the colour of the water, sometimes green, sometimes almost
black, at other times as white as milk ; at one time they fancied
themselves surrounded by rocks ; at another the sea appeared to be
a vast sand-bank. On the 30th of June the admiral's ship ran
aground with such violence as to sustain great injury. Every effort
to extricate her by sending out anchors astern was ineffectual, and
it was necessary to drag her over the shoal by the prow. At length
they emerged from the clusters of islands called the Jardins and
Jardinellos, and came to the open part of the coast of Cuba. Here
they once more sailed along the beautiful and fertile province of
Ornofay, and were again delighted with the fragrant and honeyed
airs which were wafted from the land. Among the mingled odours
the admiral fancied he perceived that of storax proceeding from the
smoke of fires blazing on the shores.*

Here Columbus sought some convenient harbour where he might
procure wood and water, and allow his crews, to enjoy repose and
the recreations of the land, for they were exceedingly enfeebled and
emaciated by the toils and privations of the voyage. For nearly
»wo months they had been struggling with perpetual difficulties

* Humboldt, in his Essai Polit. (T. 2. p, 24) speaks of the delicious fragrance
»f flowers and honey which exhales from this same coast, and is perceptible lo a
lonsiderable distance at sea.

284 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VIL

and dangers, and suffering from a scarcity of provisions. Among
these uninhabited keys, and drowned shores, their supplies from the
natives had 'been precarious, and at wide intervals; nor would the
fresh provisions thus furnished last above a day, from the heat and
humidity of the climate. It was the same case with any fish they
might chance to catch, so that they had to depend almost entirely
upon their daily allowance of ship's provisions, which was reduced
to a pound of mouldy bread, and a small portion of wine. With
joy, therefore, they anchored on the 7th of July in the mouth of a
fine river in this genial and abundant region. The ca'cique of the
neighbourhood, who reigned over an extensive territory, received
the admiral with demonstrations of mingled joy and reverence, and
his subjects came laden with whatever their country afforded; utias,
birds of various kinds, particularly large pigeons, cassava bread,
and fruits of a rich and aromatic flavour.

It was a custom with Columbus, in all remarkable places which
he visited, to erect crosses in conspicuous situations, to denote the
discovery of the country and its subjugation to the true faith. He
ordered a large cross of wood, therefore, to be elevated on the bank
of this river. This was done on a Sunday morning, with great
ceremony, and the celebration of a solemn mass. When Columbus
disembarked for the purpose, he was met upon the shore by the ca-
cique and his principal favourite, a venerable Indian, fourscore
years of age, of grave and dignified deportment. The old man
brought a string of a certain kind of beads, to which the Indians
attached a mystic value, and a calabash of a delicate kind of fruit;
these he presented to the admiral in token of amity. They then
each took him by the hand, and proceeded with him to the grove,
where preparations had been made for the celebration of the mass :
a multitude of the natives followed. While mass was performing
in this natural temple, the Indians looked on with awe and reve-
rence, perceiving from the tones and gesticulations of the priest, the
lighted tapers, the smoking incense, and the devotion of the Span
iards, that it must be a ceremony of a sacred and mysterious nature.
When the service was ended, the old man of fourscore, who had
centemplated it with profound attention, approached Columbus, and
made him an oration in the Indian manner.

" This which thou hast been doing," said he, " is well ; for it ap-
pears to be thy manner of giving thanks to God. I am told that
thou hast lately come to these lands with a mighty force, and hast
subdued many countries, spreading great fear among the people;
but be not, therefore, vain-glorious. Know that, according to our
belief, the souls of men have two journeys to perform after they have

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 285

departed from the body ; one to a place, dismal, and foul, and cover-
ed with darkness, prepared for those who have been unjust and cruel
to their fellow men ; the other pleasant and full of delight, for such
as have promoted peace on earth. If then thou art mortal, and
dost expect to die, and dost believe that each one shall be rewarded
according to his deeds, beware that thou wrongfully hurt no man,
nor do harm to those who have done no harm to thee."*

This speech was explained to the admiral by his Lucayan inter-
preter, Diego Colon. Being a man of sincere piety and tender
feelings, he was greatly moved by the simple eloquence of this un-
tutored savage. He told him, in reply, that he rejoiced to hear his
doctrine respecting the future state of the soul, having supposed
that no belief of the kind existed among the inhabitants of these
countries. That he had been sent among them by his sovereigns to
teach them the true religion; to protect them from all harm and
injury ; and e3peciilly to subdue and punish their enemies and per-
secutors, the Cai.nibals. That therefore, all innocent and peaceable
men might look up to him with confidence as an assured friend and
protect ar.

The old man was overjoyed at these words, but was equally
astonished to learn that the admiral, whom he considered so grand
and powerful, was yet but a subject. His wonder increased when
the inlerpreter told him of the riches and splendour, and power of the
Spanish monarchs, and of the wonderful things that he had beheld
on his visit to Spain. Finding himself listened to with eager curi-
osity by the whole multitude, the interpreter went on to describe the
objects which had most struck his mind in the country of the white
men. The splendid cities, the vast churches, the troops of horsemen,
the great animals of various kinds, the pompous festivals and tour-
naments of the court the glittering armies and above all the bull-
fights. The Indians all listened in mute amazement, but the old
man was particularly excited. He was of a curious and wandering
disposition, and had been a great voyager; having, according to his
account, visited Jamaica and Hispaniola, and the remote parts
of Cuba.f A sudden desire now seized him to behold the glorious
country thus described ; and, old as he was he offered to embark
with the admiral. His wife and children, however, beset him with
such lamentations and remonstrances, that he was obliged to aban-
don the intention, though he did it with great reluctance, asking
repeatedly if the land they spoke of were not heaven ; for it seemed
to him impossible that earth could produce such wonderful beings, t

* Herrera, Dec. 1, L. 11, C. 14. Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 57. P. Martyr,
Decad. 1, L. 3. Cura de los Palacios, Cap. 130.

t Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 57. t Peter Martyr, Decad. 1, L. 3.

286

LIFE AND VOYAGES OF

[Book VIL

CHAPTER VI.

COASTING VOYAGE ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE Ot JAMAICA.
[1494.]

Columbus remained for several days at anchor in the river, to
which, from the solemn mass performed on its banks, he gave the
name of Rio de la Misa. At length, on the 16th of July, he took
leave of the friendly cacique and his ancient counsellor, who beheld
his departure with sorrowful countenances. He took one young
Indian with him from this place, whom he afterwards sent to the
Spanish sovereigns. Leaving to the left the great cluster of islands
which he had named the Queen's Garden, he steered south for the
broad open sea and deep blue water, until, having a free navigation,
he could stand eastward for Hispaniola. He had scarcely got clear
of the islands, however, when he was assailed by furious gusts
of wind and rain, which for two days pelted his crazy vessels, and
harassed his enfeebled crews. At length, as he approached Cape
Cruz, a violent squall struck the ships, and nearly threw them on
their beam ends. Fortunately they were able to take in sail imme-
diately, and letting go their largest anchors, they rode out the
transient gale. The admiral's ship was so strained by the injuries
received among the islands, that she leaked at every seam, and the
utmost exertions of the weary crew could not prevent the water from
gaining on her. At length they were enabled to reach Cape Cruz,
where they anchored on the 18th of July, and remained three
days receiving the same hospitable succour from the natives which
they had experienced on their former visit.

The wind continuing contrary for the return to Hispaniola, Co-
lumbus, on the 22d of July, stood across for Jamaica, to complete
the circumnavigation of that island. For nearly a month he con-
tinued beating to the eastward along its southern coast ; experienc-
ing just such variable winds and evening showers as had prevailed,
along the shores of Cuba. Every evening he was obliged to anchor
under the land, often at nearly the same place from whence he had;
sailed in the morning. The natives no longer manifested hostility, :
but followed the ships in their canoes, bringing supplies of provisions.
Columbus was so much delighted with the verdure, freshness, and]
fertility of this noble island, that had the state of his vessels and!

CUAP. VI.J CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 257

crews permitted, he would gladly have remained to explore the in-
terior. He spoke with admiration of its frequent and excellent har-
bours, but was particularly pleased with a great bay containing
seven islands, and surrounded by numerous villages.* Anchoring
here one evening, he was visited by a cacique who resided in a large
village, situated on an eminence of the loftiest and most fertile of
the islands. He came attended by a numerous train bearing various
refreshments. This chieftain manifested great curiosity in his in-
quiries concerning the Spaniards, their ships, and the region from
whence they came. The admiral made his customary reply, setting
forth the great power and the benign intentions, of the Spanish
sovereigns. The Lucayan interpreter again enlarged upon the
wonders he had beheld in Spain; the prowess of the Spaniards,
the countries they had visited and subjugated, and above all their
having made descents on the islands of the Caribs, routed their
formidable inhabitants, and carried several of them into captivity.
To these accounts the cacique and his followers remained listening
in profound attention, until the night was advanced.

The next morning the ships were under way, and standing along
the coast with a light wind and easy sail, when they beheld three
canoes issuing from among the islands of the bay. They ap-
proached in regular order; one, which was very large and hand-
somely carved and painted, was in the centre, a little in advance of
the two others, which appeared to attend and guard it. In this was
seated the cacique and his family, consisting of his wife, two daugh-
ters, two sons, and five brothers. One of the daughters was eigh-
teen years of age, beautiful in form and countenance; her sister was
somewhat younger; both were naked, according to the custom of
these islands, but were of modest demeanour. In the prow of the
canoe stood the standardbearer of the cacique, clad in a kind of
mantle of variegated feathers, with a tuft of gay plumes on his head,
and bearing in his hand a fluttering white banner. Two Indians,
with caps or helmets of feathers, of uniform shape and colour, and
their faces painted in a similar manner, beat upon tabors ; two others,
with hats curiously wrought of green feathers, held trumpets of a
fine black wood, ingeniously carved ; and there were six others, in
large hats of white feathers, who appeared to be guards to the
cacique.

This gallant little armada having arrived along side of the admi-

* From the description this must be the great bay East of Portland Point; at
the bottom of which is Old Harbour.

288 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VH.

ral's ship, the cacique entered on board with all his train. He ap-
peared in all his regalia. Around his head was a band of small
stones of various colours, but principally green, sjmmetricallj ar-
ranged, with large white stones at intervals, and connected in front
by a large jewel of gold. Two plates of gold were suspended to his
ears by rings of very small green stones. To a necklace of white
beads, of a kind deemed precious by them, was suspended a large
plate in the form of a fleur-de-lys, of guanin, an inferior species of
gold ; and a girdle of variegated stones, similar to those round his
head, completed his regal decorations. His wife was adorned in a
similar manner, having also a very small apron of cotton, and bands
of the same round her arms and legs. The daughters were without
ornaments, excepting the eldest and handsomest, who had a girdle
of small black stones, from which was suspends 1 a tablet, the size
of an ivy leaf, composed of various coloured stones, embroidered on
network of cotton.

When the cacique entered on board of the ship, 1 le distributed pre-
sents of the productions of his island, among the officers and men.
The admiral was at this time in his cabin, engaged in his morning
devotions. When he appeared on deck, the ch/oftain hastened to
meet him with an animated countenance. " My friend," said he, " I
have determined to leave my country, and to accompany thee. I
have heard from these Indians who are with thee of the iriesistible
power of thy sovereigns, and of the many nations l,hou hast subdued
in their name. Whoever refuses obedience to thtio, is sure to suffer.
Thou hast destroyed the canoes and dwellings of the Caribs,
slaying their warriors, and carrying into captivity their wives
and children. All the islands are in dread of lliee; for who can
withstand thee now that thou knowest the secrets of the land, and
the weakness of the people. Rather, therefore, than thou shouldst
take away my dominions, I will embark with all my household in
thy ships, and will go to do homage to thy kiiig and queen, and
to behold their marvellous country, of which /liy Indians relate
such wonders."

When this speech was explained to Columbus, and he beheld the
wife, the sons and daughters of the cacique, and thought upon the
ills to which their ignorance and simplicity wo aid be exposed, he .
was touched with compassion, and determined no to take them from
their native land. He replied to the cacique, thrrefore, that he re
ceived him under his protection, as a vassal of his sovereigns; but,
having many lands yet to visit before he returned to his country, he
would call another time, and fulfil his desire. Then takinsj leave,

Chap. VII.] X.HRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 289

with many expressions of amity, the cacique, with his wife and
daughters and all his retinue, re-embarked in the canoes, returning
reluctantly to their island, and the ships continued on their course.*

CHAPTER VII.

VOYAGE ALONG THE SOUTH SIDE OF HISPANIOLA, AND RETURN
TO ISABELLA.

[ 1494. ]

On the 19th of August, Columbus lost sight of the eastern ex-
tremity of Jamaica, to which he gave the name of Cape Farol, at
present called Point Morant. Steering eastward, he beheld on the
following day that long peninsula of Hispaniola, known by the
name of Cape Tiburon, but to which he gave the name of Cape San
Miguel. He was not aware that it was a part of the island of Hayti,
until, coasting along the southern side, a cacique came off on the
23d of August, and called him by his title, addressing him with
several words of Castilian. The sound of these words spread joy
through the ship, and the weary seamen heard with delight that
they were on the southern coast of Hispaniola. They had stilly
however, many toilsome days before them. The weather was bois-
terous, the wind contrary and capricious, and the ships were sepa-
rated from each other. About the end of August, Columbus anchored
at a small island, or rather rock, which rises singly out of the sea op-
posite to a long cape, stretching southward from the centre of the
island, to which he gave the name of Cape Beata. The rock at
which he anchored had the appearance at a distance of a tall ship

• Hitherto in narrating this voyage of Columbus along the coast of Cuba, I have
been guided principally by the manuscript history of the curate of los Palacios.
His account is the most clear and satisfactory as to names, dates, and routs and
contains many characteristic particulars, not inserted in any other history. His
sources of information were of the highest kind. Columbus was his guest after his
return to Spain in 1496, and left with him manuscript journals and memorandums ;
from these he made extracts, collating them with the letters of Dr. Chanca, and
other persons of note who had accompanied the admiral.

Ihave examined two copies of the MS. of the Cura de los Palacios, both in tlie
possession of O. Pach »i,sq. One, written in an ancient handwriting of the early-
part of the 16th t»*'tm-v, varies from the other, but only in one or two tririal
particulars.

Vol. I 19 Z

290 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VII.

under sail, from which circumstance the admiral called it Alto
Velo. Several seamen were ordered to climb to the top of the island,
which commanded a great extent of ocean, and to look out for the
other ships. Nothing of them was to be seen. On their return, the
sailors killed eight sea-wolves, which were sleeping on the sands.
They also knocked down many pigeons and other birds with sticks,
and took others with the hand; for in this unfrequented island, the
animals seemed to have none of that wildness and timidity produced
by the hostility of man.

Being rejoined by the two caravels, he continued along the coast,
passing the beautiful country watered by the branches of the Ney va,
where a fertile plain, covered with villages and groves, extended into
the interior. After proceeding some distance further to the east, the
admiral learnt from the natives, who came off to the ships, that
several Spaniards from the settlement had penetrated to their pro-
vince. From all that he could learn from these people, every thing
appeared to be going on well in the island. Encouraged by the
tranquillity of the interior, he landed nine men here, with orders to
traverse the island, and give tidings of his safe arrival on the coast.

Continuing to the eastward, he sent a boat on shore for water
near a large village, in a plain. The inhabitants issued forth with
bows and arrows to give battle, while others were provided with
cords to bind prisoners. These were the natives of Higuey, the
eastern province of Hispaniola. They were the most warlike peo-
ple of the island ; having become inured to arms from the frequent
descents of the Caribs. They were said also to make use of poisoned
arrows. In the present instance, their hostility was but in appear-
ance. When the crew landed, they threw by their weapons, brought
various articles of food, and asked for the admiral, whose fame had
spread throughout the island, and in whose justice and magnanimity
all the natives appeared to repose confidence.

After leaving this place, the weather, which had been so long va-
riable and adverse began to assume a threatening appearance. A
huge fish, as large as a moderate sized whale, raised itself out of
the water one day, having a shell on its neck, like that of a tortoise,
two great fins like wings, a head the size of a pipe, and a tail like that
of a tunny fish. At sight of this fish, and at the indications of the
clouds and sky, Columbus anticipated an approaching storm, and
sought for some secure harbour.* He found a channel opening be-
tween Hispaniola and a small island called by the natives Adama-
ney, but to which he gave the name of Saona ; here he took refuge,

* Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, Lib. 11, C. 15. Kist. del Almirante, Cap. 59.

Chap. VIL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 291

anchoring beside a key or islet in the middle of the channel. On
the night of his arrival, there was an eclipse of the moon, and tak-
ing an observation, he found the difference of longitude between Sa-
ona and Cadiz to be five hours and twenty-r.hree minutes.* This 'is
upwards of eighteen degrees more than the tme longitude ; an error
which must have resulted from the incorrectness of his table of
eclipses, t

For eight days the admiral's ship remained weather-bound in this
channel, during which time he suffered great anxiety for the fate of
the other vessels, which had not been able to enter, but remained at
sea, exposed to the violence of the storm. They escaped, however,
uninjured, and once more rejoined him when the weather had mo-
derated.

Leaving the channel of Saona, they reached on the 24th of Au-
gust the eastern extremity of Hispaniola, to which Columbus gave
the name of Cape San Rafael, at present known as Cape Engano.
From hence they stood to the southeast, touching at the island of
Mona, or as the Indians called it, Amona, situated between Hispani-
ola and Porto Rico, It was the intention of Columbus, notwith-
standing the condition of his ships, to continue farther eastward,
and to complete the discovery of the Caribbee islands, but his forces
did not correspond to the efforts of his lofty spirit, f The extra-
ordinary fatigues which he had suffered, both in mind and body,
during an anxious and harassing voyage of five months, had secretly
preyed upon his frame. He had shared in all the hardships and
privations of the commonest seaman. He had put himself upon
the same scanty allowance, and exposed himself to the same bufFet-
ings of wind and weather. But he had other cares and trials from
which his people were exempt. When the sailor, worn out with the
labours of his watch, slept soundly amidst the howling of the storm^
the anxious commander maintained his painful vigil, through long
sleepless nights, amidst the pelting of the tempest, and the drench-
ing surges of the sea. The safety of his ships depended upon his
watchfulness ; but above all, he felt that a jealous nation and an
expecting world were anxiously attending the result of his enter-
prises. During a great part of the present voyage, he had been ex-
cited by the constant hope of soon arriving at the known parts of
India; and. by the anticipation of a triumphant return to Spain
through the. regions of the east, after circumnavigating the globe,

* Herrera, ubi sup. Hist. Almirante, ubi sup. f 5h. 25m. are equal to 80®
45', whereas the true longitude of Saona is 62° 20' west of Cadiz. ^

tMuiioz Hist. N. Mundo, L. 5, C. 22.

292

UPE AND VOYAGES OF

[Book VII

When disappointed in this expectation, he was yet stimulated by a
conflict with incessant hardships and perils, as he made his way
back against contrary winds and storms. The moment he was
relieved from all solicitude, and beheld himself in a known and tran-
quil sea, the excitement suddenly ceased, and mind and body sunk
exhausted by almost superhuman exertions. The very day on which
he sailed from Mona he was struck with a sudden malady, which
deprived him of memory, of sight, and all his faculties. He fell
into a deep lethargy resembling death itself. His crew, alarmed at
this profound torpor, feared that death was reallj'- at hand. They
abandoned, therefore, all further prosecution of the voyage ; and
spreading their sails to the east wind, so prevalent in those seas, they
bore Columbus back, in a state of complete insensibility, to the har-
bour of Isabella.

LIFE AND VOYAGES

OF

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

BOOK VIII.
CHAPTER I.

ARRIVAL OF THE ADMIRAL AT ISABELLA CHARACTER OF BAR-
THOLOMEW COLUMBUS.

[1494 Sept. 4.]

I

Th e sight of the little squadron of Columbus standing once more
into the harbour, was hailed with joy by such of the inhabitants of
Isabella as remained faithful to him. The long time that had
elapsed since his departure on this adventurous voyage, without any
tidings arriving from him, had given rise to the most serious appre-
hensions for his safety; and it began to be feared that he had fallen
a victim to his enterprising spirit in some remote part of these un-
known seas.

A joyful and heartfelt surprise awaited the admiral on his arrival,
in finding at his bedside his brother Bartholomew, the companion
of his youth, his confidential coadjutor, and in a manner his second
self, from whom he had been separated for several years. It will be
recollected, that about the time of the admiral's departure from Por-
tugal, he had commissioned Bartholomew to repair to England, and
propose his project of discovery to king Henry VII. Of this applica-
tion to the English court no precise particulars are known. Fernando
Columbus states that his uncle, in the course of his voyage, was cap-
tured and plundered by a corsair, and reduced to such poverty, thaii
he had for a long time to struggle for a mere subsistence by making
sea charts ; so that some years elapsed before he made his applica-
tion to the English monarch. Las Casas thinks that he did not
immediately proceed to England, having found a memorandum in

Z3

294 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VUI.

his handwriting, by which it would appear that he accompanied
Bartholomew Diaz in 1486, in his voyage along the coast of Africa,
in the service of the king of Portugal, in the course of which voy-
age was discovered the Cape of Good Hope.*

♦ The memorandum cited by Las Casas (Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 7.) is curious
though not conclusive. He says that he found it in an old book belonging to
Christopher Columbus, containing the works of Pedro de Aliaco. It was -writ-
ten in the margin of a treatise on the form of the globe, in the handwriting of
Bartholomew Columbus, which was well known to Las Caseus, as he had many of
his letters in his possession. The memorandum was in a barbarous mixture of
Latin and Spanish, and to the following eiFect.

In the year 1488, in December, arrived at Lisbon Bartholomew Diaz, captain
of three cai-avels, which the king of Pmtugal sent to discover Guinea, and brought
accounts that he had discovered six hundred leagues of territory, four hundred
and fifty to the south and one hundred and fifty north, to a cape, named by him
the Cape of Good Hope; and that by the astrolabe he found the cape 45 degrees
beyond the equinoctial line. This cape was 3100 leagues distant from Lisbon :
the which the said captain says he set down, league by league, in a chart of navi-
gation presented to the king of Portugal ; in all which, adds the writer, I was
present (in quibus omnibus interfui.)

Las Casas expresses a doubt whether Bartholomew -wrote this note for himself
or on the part of his brother, but infers that one, or both, were in this expedition.
The inference may be correct with respect to Bartholomew, but Christopher, at the
time specified, was at the Spanish court.

Las Casas accounts for a difference in date between the foregoing memorandum
and the chronicles of the voyage ; the former making the return of Diaz in the
year '83, tlie latter '87. This he observes might be because some begin to count
the year after Christmas, others at the first of January : and the expedition sailed
about the end of August '86, and returned in December '87 after an absence of
seventeen months.

Note. Since publishing the first edition of this work, the author being in
Seville, and making researches in the Bibliotheca Colombina, the library given
by Fernando Columbus to the cathedral of that city, he came accidentally upon
the above mentioned copy of the work of Pedro Aliaco. He ascertained it to be
the same by finding the above cited memorandum written on the margin at the
eighth chapter of tlie tract called "Imago Mundi." It is an old volume in folio,
bound in parchment, published soon after the invention of printing, containir.g a
collection in Latin of astronomical and cosmographical tracts of Pedro (or Peter)
de Aliaco, archbishop of Cambray and cardinal, and of his disciple John Gerson.
Pedro de Aliaco was born in 1350 and died, according to some in 1416, according
to others in 1425. He was the author of many works and one of the most learned
and scientific men of his day. Las Casas is of opinion that his writings had
more effect in stimulating Columbus to his enterprise than those of any other
author. " His work was so familiar to Columbus that he had filled its whole
ntargin with Latin notes in his handwriting ; citing many things which he had
read and gathered elsewhere. This book, which was very old," continues Las
Casas " I had many times in my hands ; and I drew some things from it, written
in Latin by the said admiral Christopher Columbus, to verify certain points apper-
taining to his history, of which I before was in doubt." (Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 11.)
It waa a great satisfaction to tlie author therefore, to discover this identiuil

Chap. I.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 295

It is but justice to the memory of Henry VII. to say, that when
the proposition was eventually made to him, it met with a more
ready attention than from any other sovereign. An agreeement
was actually made with Bartholomew for the prosecution of the en-
terprise, and the latter departed for Spain in search of his brother.
On reaching Paris, he first received the joyful intelligence that the
discovery was already made ; that his brother had returned to Spain
in triumph ; and was actually at the Spanish court, honoured by the
sovereigns, caressed by the nobility, and idolized by the people.
The glory of Columbus already shed its rays upon his family, and
Bartholomew found himself immediately a person of importance.
He was noticed by the French monarch, Charles VIH. who under-
standing that he was low in purse, furnished him with one hundred
crowns to defray the expenses of his journey to Spain. He reached
Seville just as his brother had departed on his second voyage. Bar-
tholomew immediately repaired to the court, then at Valladolid,
taking with him his two nephews, Diego and Fernando, who were
to serve in quality of pages to Prince Juan.* He was received with
distinguished favour by the sovereigns ; who finding him to be an
able and accomplished navigator, gave him the command of three
ships freighted with supplies for the colony, and sent him to aid his
brother in his enterprises. He had again arrived too late ; reaching
Isabella just after the departure of the admiral for the coast of
Cuba,

The sight of this brother was an inexpressible relief to Columbus,
overwhelmed as he was by cares, and surrounded by strangers. His
chief dependence for sympathy and assistance had hitherto been on
his brother Don Diego; but his mild and peaceable disposition ren-
dered him little capable of managing the concerns of a factious

volume, this Vade Mecum of Columbus in a state of good preservation. [It is in

the Cathedral library, E G. G. Tab. 178. No. 21.] The notes and citations

mentioned by Las Casas are in Latin, with many abbreviations, virritten in a very
small but neat and distinct hand, and run throughout the volume : calling attention
to the most striking passages, or to those which bore most upon the theories of
Columbus ; occasionally containing brief comments or citing the opinions of other
authors, ancient and modern, either in support or contradiction of the text. The
memorandum, particularly cited by Las Casas, mentioning the voyage of Bartho-
lomew Diaz to the Cape of Good Hope, is to disprove an opinion in the text, that
Uie ToiTid Zone was uninhabitable. This volume is a most curious and interest-
ing document, the only one that remains of Columbus prior to his discovery. It
illustrates liis researches and in a manner the current of his thoughts, while as yet
.his great enterprise existed but in idea, and while he was seeking means to con-
vince the world of its practicabihty. It will be found also to contain the grounds
of many of his opinions and speculations on a variety of subjects.
♦ Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 60.

296 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VHI.

colony. Bartholomew was of a different and more efficient charac-
ter. He was prompt, active, decided, and of a fearless spirit ; what-
ever he determined, he carried into instant execution, without
regard to difficulty or danger. His person corresponded to his mind ;
it was tall, muscular, vigorous, and commanding. He had an air
of great authority, but somewhat stern, wanting that sweetness and
benignity which tempered the authoritative demeanour of the ad-
miral. Indeed, there was a certain asperity in his temper, and a
dryness and abruptness in his manners, which made him many ene-
mies; yet notwithstanding these external defects, he was of a
generous disposition, free from all arrogance or malevolence, and as
placable as he was brave.

He was a thorough seaman, understanding both the theory and
practice of his profession ; having been formed, in a great measure,
under the eye of the admiral, and being but little inferior to him in
science. He was superior to him in the exercise of the pen, accord-
ing to Las Casas, who had letters and manuscripts of both in his
possession. He was acquainted with Latin, but does not appear to
have been highly educated; his knowledge, like that of his brother,
being chiefly derived from a long course of varied experience and
attentive observation. Equally vigorous and penetrating in intel-
lect with the admiral, but less enthusiastic in spirit, and soaring in
imagination, and with less simplicity of heart, he surpassed him in
the subtle and adroit management of business, was more attentive
to his interests, and had more of that worldly wisdom which is so
important in the ordinary concerns of life. His genius might never
have enkindled him to the sublime speculation which ended in the
discovery of a world, but his practical sagacity was calculated to
turn that discovery to advantage. Such is the description of Bartho-
lomew Columbus, as furnished by the venerable Las Casas from
personal observation;* and it will be found to accord with his
actions throughout the remaining history of the admiral, in the
events of which he takes a conspicuous part.

Anxious to relieve himself from the pressure of public business,
which weighed heavily upon him during his present malady,
Columbus immediately invested his brother Bartholomew with the
title and authority of Adelantado, an office equivalent to that
of lieutenant-governor. He considered himself entitled to do so,
from the articles of his arrangement with the sovereigns; but it was
looked upon by King Ferdinand as an undue assumption of power,
and gave great offence to that jealous monarch, who was exceed-

Las Casas, Hist. Ind. Lib. 1, C. 29.

5hap. n.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 297

mgly tenacious of the prerogatives of the crown, and considered dig-
nities of this rank and importance as only to be conferred by royal
mandate.* Columbus, however, was not actuated in this appoint-
ment by a mere desire to aggrandize his family. He felt the
importance of his brother's assistance in the present critical state
of the colony, but that his assistance would be inefficient unless it
bore the stamp of high official authority. In fact, during the few
months that he had been absent the whole island had become a
scene of discord and violence, in consequence of the neglect, or
rather the flagrant violation of those rules which he had prescribed
for the maintenance of its tranquillity. A brief retrospect of the
recent affairs of the colony is here necessary, to explain their present
confusion. It will exhibit one of the many instances in which
Columbus was doomed to reap the fruits of the evil seed which had
been sown by his adversaries.

CHAPTER II.

MISCONDUCT OF DON PEDRO MARGARITE, AND HIS DEPARTURE
FROM THE ISLAND.

[1494.]

It will be recollected, that before departing on his voyage, Columbus
had given command of the army to Don Pedro Magarite, with
orders to make a military tour of the island, and, while he awed the
natives by a display of military force, to conciliate their good will,
by the most equitable and amicable treatment.

The island was at this time divided into five domains, each
governed by a sovereign cacique, of absolute and hereditary power,
to whom a great number of inferior caciques yielded tributary
allegiance. The first, or most important domain, comprised the
middle part of the Royal Vega. It was a rich, level country, partly
cultivated after the imperfect manner of the natives, partly covered
with noble forests, studded with Indian towns, and watered by
numerous rivers, many of which rolling down from the mountains

* Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 101.

298 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VHI.

of Cibao, on its western frontier, had gold dust mingled with their
sands. The name of the cacique was Guarionex, whose ancestors
had long ruled over the province.

The second, called Marien, was under the sway of Guacanagari,
on whose coast Columbus had been wrecked in his first voyage. It
was a large and fertile territory, extending along the northern coast,
from Cape San Nicholas at the western extremity of the island, to
the great river Yagui, afterwards called Monte Christi, and includ-
ing the northern part of the Royal Vega, since called the plain
of Cape Francois.

The third bore the name of Maguana, and was under the dominion
of the Carib cacique Caonabo, the most fierce and puissant of the
savage chieftains, and the inveterate enemy of the white men. In
this domain were included the gold mines of Cibao.

The fourth took its name from Xaragiia, a large lake, and was
the most populous and extensive of all. It comprised the whole
western coast, including the long promontory of Cape Tiburon, and
extended for a considerable distance along the southern side of the
island. The inhabitants were finely formed, had a nobler air, a
more agreeable elocution, and more soft and graceful manners, than
the natives of the other parts of the island. The sovereign was
named Behechio; his sister Anacaona, celebrated throughout the
island for her charms and graces, was the favourite wife of the
neighbouring cacique Caonabo.

The fifth domain was Higuey, and occupied the whole eastern
part of the island: being bounded on the north by the river Yagui,
and on the south by the Ozema. The inhabitants were the most
active and warlike people of the island, having learnt the use of the
bow and arrow from the Caribs, who made frequent descents upon
their coasts; they were said also to make use of poisoned weapons.
Their bravery, however, was but comparative, and was found,
eventually, of but little proof against the terror of European arms.
They were governed by a cacique named Cotubanama.*

Such were the five territorial divisions of the island, at the time
of its discovery. The amount of its population has never been
clearly ascertained; some have stated it at a million of souls, f
though this is considered an exaggeration. It must, however, have
been very numerous, and sufficient, in case of any general hostility,
to endanger the safety of the handful of Europeans. Columbus
trusted for safety, partly to the awe inspired by the weapons and
horses of the Soaniards, and the idea of their superhuman nature,

• Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming. L. 1, p. 69. f Idem,

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 29^

but chiefly to the measures he had taken to conciliate the good will
of the Indians by gentle and beneficent treatment.

Margarite set forth on his expedition with the greater part of the
forces, leaving Alonzo de Ojeda in command of the fortress of St.
'Diomas. Instead, however, of commencing by exploring the rough
mountains of Cibao, as he had been commanded, he descended into
the rich plains of the Vega. Here he lingered among the populous
and hospitable Indian villages, forgetful of the object of his com-
mand, and of the instructions left him by the admiral. A com-
mander who lapses from duty himself, and yields to the incitements
of his passions, is but little calculated to enforce discipline on others.
The sensual indulgences of Margarite were imitated by his follow-
ers, and his army soon became little better than a crew of riotous
marauders. The Indians, for a time, supplied them with provisions,
with their wonted hospitahty, but the scanty stores of those abste-
mious yet improvident people were soon exhausted by the Spaniards;
one of whom, they declared, would consume more in a day, than
would support an Indian for a month. If provisions were withheld,
or scantily furnished, they were taken with violence ; nor was any
compensation given to the natives, nor means taken to soothe their
irritation. The avidity for gold also led to a thousand acts of in-
justice and oppression ; but above all, the Spaniards outraged the
dearest feelings of the natives, by their hcentious conduct with re-
spect to the women. In fact, instead of guests, they soon assumed
the tone of imperious masters ; instead of enlightened benefactors,
they became sordid and sensual oppressors.

Tidings of these excesses, and of the disgust and impatience that
they were awakening among the natives, soon reached Don Diego
Columbus. With the concurrence of the council, he wrote to Mar-
garite, reprehending his conduct, and requesting him to proceed on
the military tour, according to the commands of the admiral. The
pride of Margarite took fire at this reproof ; he considered, or rather
pretended to consider himself independent in his command, and
above all responsibility to the council for his conduct. Being of an
ancient family, also, and a favourite of the king, he affected to look
down with contempt upon the newly coined nobility of Diego Co-
lumbus. His letters, in reply to the orders of the president and
council, were couched in a tone either of haughty contumely or of
military defiance. He continued with his followers, quartered in
the Vega, persisting in a course of outrages and oppressions, fatal
to the tranquillity of the island.

He was supported in his arrogant defiance of authority, by the
cavaliers and adventurers of noble birth who were in the colony,

300 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Booit VHI.

and who had been deeply wounded in the proud punctilio, so
jealously guarded by a Spaniard. They could not forget nor for-
give the stern equity exercised by the admiral, in a time of emer-
gency, in making them submit to the privations, and share the la-
bours, of the vulgar. Still less could they brook the authority of
his brother, Diego, destitute of his high personal claims to distinc-
tion. They formed, therefore, a kind of aristocratical faction in
the colony; aiFecting to consider Columbus and his family as mere
mercenary and upstart foreigners, building up their own fortunes
at the expense of the toils and sufferings of the community, and the
degradation of Spanish hidalgos and cavaliers.

In addition to these partisans, Margarite had a powerful ally in his
fellow countryman, father Boyle, the head of the religious fraternity,
one of the members of the council, and apostolical vicar for the New
World. It is not easy to ascertain the original cause of the hostility
of this holy friar to the admiral, who was never wanting in respect to
the clergy. Various altercations, however, had taken place between
them. Some say that the friar interfered in respect to the strict
measures deemed necessary by the admiral, for the security of the
colony; others, that he resented the fancied indignity offered to him-
self and his household, in putting them on the same short allow-
ance with the common people. He appears, however, to have been
generally disappointed, and disgusted, with the sphere of action
afforded by the colony, and to have looked back with regret to the
Old World. He had none of that enthusiastic zeal, and persever-
ing self-devotion, which induced so many of the Spanish missiona-
ries to brave all the hardships and privations of the new world, in
the hope of converting its pagan inhabitants.

Encouraged and fortified by such powerful partisans, Margarite
really began to consider himself above the temporary authorities of
the island. Whenever he came to Isabella, he took no notice of
Don Diego Columbus, nor paid any respect to the council, but act-
ed as if he had paramount command. He formed a cabal of the
most important of those who were disaffected to Columbus, and dis-
contented with their abode in the colony. Among these, the lead-
ing personage was father Boyle. It was concerted among them to
take possession of the ships which had brought out Don Bartholo-
mew Columbus, and to return in them to Spain. Both Margarite
and Boyle possessed the favour of the king, and they deemed i*
would be an easy matter to justify their abandonment of their mili-
tary and religious commands, by a pretended zeal for the pubUc
good ; hurrying home to represent the disastrous state of the colony,
through the tyranny and oppression of its rulers. Some have as-

Chap. IH-l CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS- 301

cribed the abrupt departure of Margarite to his fear of a severe mili-
tary investigation of his conduct, on the return of the admiral ;
others, to his having in the course of his licentious amours, contract-
ed a malady at that time new and unknown, and which he attri-
buted to the climate, and hoped to cure by medical assistance in
Spain. Whatever may have been the cause, his measures were
taken with great precipitancy, without any consultation of the pro-
per authorities, or any regard to the consequences of his departure.
Accompanied by a band of malecontents, he and father Boyle
took possession of certain of the ships in the harbour, and set sail
for Spain: the first general and apostle of the New World, thus
setting the flagrant example of an unauthorized abandonment of
their posts.

CHAPTER III.

TROUBLES WITH THE NATIVES ALONZO DE OJEDA BESIEGED

BY CAONABO.

[1494]

The departure of Pedro Margarite left the army without a head,
and put an end to what little restraint and discipline remained.
There is no rabble so licentious as soldiery left to their own discre-
tion in a defenceless country. They now roved about in bands or
singly, according to their caprice, scattering themselves among the
Indian villages, and indiilging in all kinds of excesses, either as
prompted by avarice or sensuality. The natives, indignant at
having their hospitality thus requited, refused any longer to furnish
them with food. In a little while the Spaniards began to experi-
ence the pressure of hunger, and seized upon provisions wherever
they could be found, accompanying these seizures with acts of wan-
ton violence. At length by a series of flagrant outrages, the gentle
and pacific nature of this people was roused to resentment ; and
from confiding and hospitable hosts they were converted into vindic-
tive enemies. All the precautions enjoined by Columbus having
been neglected, the evils he had apprehended came to pass. Though
the Indians, naturally timid, dared not contend with tlie Spaniards

2 A

302 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII.

while they kept up any combined and disciplined force, yet they
took sanguinary vengeance on them whenever they met with small
parties or scattered individuals, roving about in quest of food. En-
couraged by these petty triumphs, and the impunity which seemed
to attend them, their hostilities grew more open and alarming.
Guatiguana, cacique of a large town on the banks of the Grand
River, in the dominions of Guarionex, sovereign of the Vega, put
to death ten Spaniards, who had quartered themselves in his town,
and outraged the inhabitants by their licentiousness. He followed
up this massacre by setting fire to a house in which forty sick Span-
iards were lodged.* Flushed by this success, he menaced with at-
tack a small fortress called Magdalena, which had recently been
built in his neighbourhood in the Vega, so that the commander,
Luis de Arriaga, having but a feeble garrison, was obliged to re-
main shut up within its walls, until relief should arrive from Isabella.

The most formidable enemy of the Spaniards, however, was Cao-
nabo, the Carib cacique of Maguana, the same who had surprised
and massacred the garrison of the fortress at La Navidad. He had
natural talents for war, and intelligence superior to the ordinary
range of savage intellect. He had a proud and daring spirit to urge
him on, three valiant brothers to assist him, and a numerous tribe
at his command.t He had always felt jealous of the intrusion of
the white men into the island ; but when he beheld the fortress of
St. Thomas erected in the very centre of his dominions, he was
roused to indignation. As long as the army lay within call in the
Vega, he was deterred from any attack ; but when, on the depart-
ure of Margarite, the army became dismembered and dispersed, the
time for striking a signal blow seemed arrived. The fortress re-
mained isolated, with a garrison of only fifty men. By a suddea
and secret movement he might overwhelm it with his forces, and
repeat the horrors which he had wreaked upon La Navidad.

The wily cacique, however, had a different kind of enemy to deal
with in the commander of St. Thomas. Alonzo de Ojeda had been
schooled in Moorish warfare. He was versed in all kinds of feints,
stratagems, lurking ambuscades, and wild assaults. No man was
more fitted, therefore, to cope with Indian warriors. He had a ve-
hement and headlong courage, arising partly from the natural heat
and vivacity of his temperament, and in a great measure from re-
ligious superstition. He had been engaged in wars with Moors and
Indians, in public battles and private combats; in fights, feuds, and
encounters of all kinds j to which he had been prompted by a rash

• Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, L. 2, C. 16. t Herrera, ubi sup.

Chap. III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. SOS

and fiery spirit, and a love of adventure; yet he had never been
wounded, or had lost a drop of blood. He began to doubt whether
any weapon had power to harm him, and to consider himself under
the especial protection of the holy Virgin. As a kind of religious
talisman, he had a small Flemish painting of the Virgin, which had
been given him by his patron Fonseca, bishop of Badajos. This he
constantly carried with him, in city, camp, or field, making it the
object of his frequent orisons and invocations. In garrison or en-
campment, it was suspended in his chamber or his tent ; in his rough
expeditions in the wilderness he carried it in his knapsack, and
whenever leisure permitted, would take it out, fix it against a
tree, and address his prayers to this military patroness.* In a word,
he swore by the Virgin ; he invoked the Virgin, whether in brawl
or battle ; and under favour of the Virgin, he was ready for any
. enterprise or adventure. Such was this Alonzo de Ojeda, bigoted
in his devotion, reckless in his life, fearless in his spirit, like many
of the roving Spanish cavaliers of those days. Though diminutive
in size, he was a prodigy of strength and prowess ; and the chroni-
clers of the early discoveries relate marvels of his valour and exploits.

Having reconnoitred the fortress, Caonabo assembled ten thou-
sand warriors, armed with war-clubs, bows and arrows, and lances
hardened in the fire ; and making his way secretly through the fo-
rests, came suddenly in the neighbourhood, expecting to surprise
the garrison in a state of careless security. He found Ojeda' s forces,
however, drawn up warily within his tower, which, being perched
upon an almost insulated height, with a river nearly surrounding it,
and the remainder traversed by a deep ditch, set at defiance an open
attack by naked warriors.

Foiled in his attempt, Caonabo now hoped to reduce it by famine,
For th.s purpose, he spread his army through the adjacent forests;
and waylaid every pass, so as to intercept any supplies brought by
the natives, and to cut off any foraging party from the fortress.
This siege, or investment, lasted for thirty days,t during which
time the garrison was reduced to great distress. There is a tradi-
tional anecdote, which Oviedo relates of Pedro Margarite, the for-
mer commander of this fortress, but which may with more probabi-
lity be ascribed to Alonzo de Ojeda, as having occurred during this
siege. At a time when the garrison was sore pressed by famine, an
Indian gained access to the fort, bringing a couple of wood-pigeons
for the table of the commander. The latter was in a chamber of

* Herrera, Hi»t. Ind. Decad. 1, L. 8, C. 4. Pizarro, Varones Illustres, Cap. 8.
t P. Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 4.

304 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII.

the tower, surrounded by several of his officers. Seeing them re-
gard the birds with the wistful ejes of famishing men, " It is a
pity," said he, " that here is not enough to afford us all a meal ; I
cannot consent to feast while the rest of you are starving;" so say-
ing he turned loose the pigeons from a window of the tower.

During the siege, Ojeda displayed the greatest activity of spirit,
and fertility of resources. He baffled all the arts of the Carib chief-
tain, concerting stratagems of various kinds, to relieve the garrison
and annoy the foe. He made desperate sallies whenever the enemy
appeared in any force, always leading the van, with that headlong
valour for which he was noted ; making great slaughter with his
single arm, and as usual escaping unhurt from amidst showers of
darts and arrows.

Caonabo saw many of his bravest warriors slain. His forces
were daily diminishing, for the Indians, unused to any protracted
operations of war, grew weary of this siege, and began to disperse,
returning daily in numbers to their homes. He gave up all further
attempt, therefore, on the fortress, and retired filled with admiration
of the prowess and achievements of Ojeda.*

The restless chieftain was not discouraged by the failure of this
enterprise, but meditated schemes of a bolder and more extensive
nature. Prowling in secret about the vicinity of Isabella, he noted
the enfeebled state of the settlement, f Many of the inhabitants
were suffering under various maladies, and most of the men capable
of bearing arms were distributed about the country. He now con-
ceived the project of a general league among the caciques, to assem-
ble their forces, and surprise and overwhelm the settlement ; and to
massacre the Spaniards wherever they could be found. This hand-
ful of intruders once exterminated, he trusted that the island would
be delivered from all further molestation of the kind ; little dreaming
of the hopeless nature of this contest, and that where the civilized
man once plants his foot, the power of the savage is gone for ever.

Reports of the profligate conduct of the Spaniards had spread
throughout the island, and inspired hatred and hostility even among
tribes who had never beheld them, nor suffered from their misdeeds.
Caonabo found three of the sovereign caciques inclined to co-operate
with him, though impressed with deep awe of the supernatural power
of the Spaniards, and of their terrific arms and animals. The league,
however, met with unexpected opposition in the fifth cacique, Gua-
canagari, the sovereign of Marien. His conduct, in this time of

* Oviedo Cronica de las Indias, Lib. 3, C. 1.
t Hist, del Almirante, C. 60.

Chap. HI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 305

danger, completely manifested the injustice of those suspicions, which
had been entertained of him by the Spaniards. He refused to join
the other caciques with his forces, or to violate those laws of hospi-
tality, by which he had considered himself bound to protect and aid the
white men, ever since they had been shipwrecked on his coast. He
remained quietly in his dominions, entertaining at his own expense a
hundred of the suffering soldiery, and supplying all their wants with
his accustomed generosity. This conduct drew upon him the odium
and hostility of his fellow caciques, particularly of the fierce Carib,
Caonabo, and his brother-in-law, Behechio. They made irruptions
into his territories, and inflicted on him various injuries and indigni-
ties. Behechio killed one of his wives, and Caonabo carried another
away captive*. Nothing, however, could shake the devotion of
Guacanagari to the Spaniards ; and as his dominions lay immedi-
ately adjacent to the settlement, and those of some of the other ca-
ciques were very remote, the want of his co-operation impeded for some
time the hostile designs of the confederates.!

Such was the critical state to which the affairs of the colony had
been reduced, and such the bitter hostility engendered among the
kind and gentle people of the island, during the absence of Colum-
bus; and merely in consequence of violating all his regulations.
Margarite and father Boyle had hastened to Spain, to make false
representations of the miseries of the island. Had they remained
faithfully at their posts, and discharged zealously the trust confided
to them, those miseries might have been easily remedied, if not en-
tirely prevented.

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 60.
tHerrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, L. 2, C. 16.
Vol. L 20

I

2 A2

30&

LIFE AND VOYAGES OF

[Book VHI

CHAPTER IV.

MEASURES OF COLUMBUS TO RESTORE THE QUIET OF THE ISL
AND EXPEDITION OF OJEDA TO SURPRISE CAONABO.

[1494.]

Immediately after the return of Columbus from Cuba, while he
was yet confined to his bed by indisposition, he was gratified by a
voluntary visit from Guacanagari. This kind-hearted chieftain ma-
nifested the greatest concern at his illness, for he appears always to
have entertained an affectionate reverence for the admiral. He
again spoke with tears of the massacre at fort Nativity, dwelling on
the exertions he had made in defence of the Spaniards. He now
informed Columbus of the secret league forming among the caciques,
of his opposition to it, and the consequent persecution he had suffer-
ed ; of the murder of one of his wives, and the capture of another.
He urged the admiral to be on his guard against the designs of Cao-
nabo, and offered to lead his subjects to the field to fight by the sid©
of the Spaniards, as well out of friendship for them, as in revenge of
his own injuries.*

Columbus had always retained a deep sense of the ancient kind-
ness of Guacanagari, and had been unwilling to doubt his faith and
friendship ; he was rejoiced, therefore, to have all suspicion thus
effectually dispelled. Their former amicable intercourse was re-
newed, with this difference, that the man whom Guacanagari had
once relieved and succoured when a shipwrecked stranger on his
shores, had suddenly become the arbiter of the fate of himself and all
his countrymen.

The manner in which this peaceful island had been exasperated
and embroiled by the licentious conduct of the Europeans, was a
matter of deep concern to Columbus. He saw all his plans of de-
riving an immediate revenue to the sovereigns completely impeded.
To restore the island to tranquillity, required skilful management.
His forces were but small, and the awe in which the natives had
stood of the white men, as supernatural beings, had been in some

• Herrera, Hist. Ind. Deead. 1, L. 2 C. 16.

Chap.'IIL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 307

degree dispelled. He was too ill to take a personal share in an^
warlike enterprise, his brother Diego was not of a military charac*
ter, and Bartholomew was yet a stranger among the Spaniards, and
■regarded by the leading men with jealousy. Still Columbus con-
sidered the threatened combination of the caciques as but imperfectly
formed ; he trusted to their want of skill and experience in warfare,
and conceived that by prompt measures, by proceeding in detail,
punishing some, conciliating others, and uniting force, gentleness
and stratagem, he might succeed in dispelling the threatened storm.

His first care was to send a body of armed men to the relief of
Fort Magdalena, menaced with destruction by Guatiguana, the
cacique of the Grand river, who had massacred the Spaniards quar-
tered in his town. Having relieved the fortress, the troops overran
the territory of Guatiguana, killing many of his warriors, and carry-
ing others off captive ; the chieftain himself made his escape.* He
was tributary to Guarionex, the sovereign cacique of the Royal
Vega. As this Indian prince reigned over a great and populous ex-
tent of country, his friendship was highly important to the prosperity
of the colony, while there was imminent risk of his hiDstility from
tne unbridled excesses of the Spaniards who had been quartered in
different parts of his dominions. Columbus sent for him, therefore,
and explained to him that these excesses had been in violation of h^
orders, and contrary to his good intentions towards the natives, whom
it was his wish in every way to please and benefit. He explained,
likewise, that the expedition against Guatiguana was an act of
mere individual punishment, not of hostility against the territories of
Guarionex. The cacique was of a quiet and placable disposition,
and whatever anger he might have felt was easily soothed. To
link him in some degree to the Spanish interest, Columbus prevailed
on him to give his daughter in marriage to the Indian interpreter,
Diego Colon, t He took a still stronger precaution to guard against
any hostility on the part of the cacique, and to ensure tranquility in
the important region of the Vega. He ordered a fortress to be erect-
ed in the midst of his territories, which he named Fort Conception.
The easy cacique agreed without hesitation to a measure, fraught
with ruin to himself, and future slavery to his subjects.

The most formidable enemy remained to be disposed of: Caonabo,

* Herrera, Decad. 1, L. 2, C. 16.

t P. Martyr, Decad. 1, L. 4.

N. B. Sig'r Gio. Batista Spotorno, in his memoir of Columbus, has been led
into an error by the name of this Indian, and observes that Columbus had a
brother named Diego, of whom he seemed to be ashamed, and whom he marriei
to the daughter of an Indian chief.

308 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VUI.

the warlike spirit of the island, the active and daring foe of the
white men; and who, from superior notions of policy, was capable
of forming dangerous leagues and conspiracies. His territories lay
in the central and mountainous parts of the island, rendered difficult
of access by the rugged rocks, entangled forests, and frequent rivers.
To make war upon this subtle and ferocious chieftain, in the depths
of his wild woodland territory, and among the fastnesses of his moun-
tains, where at every step there would be danger of falling into some
sudden ambush, would be a work of time, peril, and uncertain issue.
In the meanwhile, the settlements would never be secure from his
secret and daring enterprises, and the working of the mines would
be subject to frequent interruption. While perplexed on this subject,
Columbus was relieved by a bold proposition on the part of Alonzo
de Ojeda, who offered to take the Carib chieftain by stratagem, and
deliver him alive into his hands. The project was wild, hazardous
and romantic, characteristic of the fearless and adventurous spirit
of Ojeda, who was fond of distinguishing himself by extravagant
exploits, and feats of desperate bravery.

Choosing ten bold and hardy followers, well armed and well
mounted, and invoking the protection of his patroness the Virgin,
whose image as usual he bore with him as a safeguard, Ojeda
plunged into the forest, and made his way above sixty leagues at the
head of his followers, into the wild territories of Caonabo, where he
found the cacique in one of his most populous towns. Ojeda ap-
proached Caonabo with great deference and respect, treating him as
a sovereign prince. He informed him that he had come on a friendly
embassy from the admiral, who was Guamiquina or chief of the
Spaniards, and who had sent him an invaluable present.

Caonabo had tried Ojeda in battle ; he had witnessed his fiery
prowess, and had conceived a warrior's admiration of him. He re
ceived him with a degree of chivalrous courtesy, if such a phrase
may apply to the savage state and rude hospitality of a wild warrior
of the forests. The free, fearless deportment, the great personal
strength, and the surprising agility and adroitness of Ojeda in all
manly exercises, and in the use of all kinds of weapons, were calcu-
lated to delight a savage, and he soon became a great favourite with
Caonabo.

Ojeda now used all his influence to prevail upon the cacique to
repair to Isabella, for the purpose of making a treaty with Columbus,
and becoming the ally and friend of the Spaniards. It is said, that
he oflTered him as a lure, the bell of the chapel of Isabella. This bell
was the wonder of the island. When the Indians heard its melody
sounding" through the forests as it rung for mass, and beheld the

Chap. IV.j CHRISTOPPIER COLUMBUS. 309

Spaniards hastening towards the chapel, they imagined that it
talked, and that the white men obeyed it. With that feeling of su-
perstition with which they regarded all things connected with the
Spaniards, they looked upon this bell as something supernatural,
and in their usual phrase, said it had come from Turey, or the skies.
Caonabo had heard this wonderful instrument at a distance, in the
course of his prowlings about the settlement, and had longed to seq
it : but when it was proffered to him as a present of peace, he found
it impossible to resist the temptation.

The cacique agreed, therefore, to set out for Isabella ; but when
the time came to depart, Ojeda beheld with surprise a powerful force
of warriors assembled, and ready to march. He asked the meaning
of taking such an army on a mere friendly visit, to which the
cacique proudly replied, that it was not befitting a great prince like
him, to go forth scantily attended. Ojeda felt little satisfied with
this reply ; he knew the warlike character of Caonabo, and his deep
subtilty, which is the soul of Indian warfare ;. he feared some sinis-
ter design, and that the chieftain might meditate some surprise of
the fortress of Isabella, or some attempt upon the person of the ad-
miral. He knew also that it was the wish of Columbus, either to
make peace with the cacique, or to get possession of his person with-
out the alternative of open warfare. He had recourse to a strata
gem, therefore, which has an air of fable and romance, but which is
recorded by all the contemporary historians, with trivial variations,
and which Las Casas assures us was in current circulation in the
island when he arrived there, about six years after the event. It
accords, too, with the adventurous and extravagant character of the
man, and with the wild stratagems and vaunting exploits incident
to Indian warfare.

In the course of their march, having halted near the river Yagui,
Ojeda one day produced a set of manacles of polished steel, so
highly burnished that they looked like silver. These he assured
Caonabo were royal ornaments which had come from heaven, or the
Turey of Biscay;* that they were worn by the monarchs of Castile
on solemn dances, and other high festivities, and were intended as
presents to the cacique. He proposed that Caonabo should go to the
river and bathe, after which he should be decorated with these orna-
ments, mounted on the horse of Ojeda, and should return in the state
of a Spanish monarch, to astonish his subjects. The cacique, with
that fondness for glittering ornaments common to savages, was daz-
zled with the sight; his proud military spirit, also, was flattered with

* The principal iron manufactories of Spain are established in Biscay, where
that mineral is found in abundance.

310 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [BookVIIL

the idea of bestriding one of those tremendous animals, so dreaded
by his countrymen. He accompanied Ojeda and his followers to the
river, with but few attendants, dreading nothing from nine or ten
strangers when thus surrounded by his army. After the cacique
had bathed in the river, he was assisted to mount behind Ojeda, and
the shackles were then adjusted. This done, they pranced round
among the savages, who were astonished to behold their cacique in
glittering array, and mounted on one of those fearful animals.
Ojeda made several circuits to gain space, followed by his little band
of horsemen; the Indians shrinking back with affright from the
prancing steeds. At length he made a wide sweep into the forest,
until the trees shut him from the sight of the army. His followers
then closed round him, and drawing their swords, threatened Cao-
nabo with instant death if he made the least noise or resistance,
though indeed his manacles and shackles effectually prevented the
latter. They bound him with cords to Ojeda to prevent his falling,
or effecting an escape; then putting spurs to their horses, they
dashed across the Yagui, and made off through the woods with
their prize.*

They had now fifty or sixty leagues of wilderness to traverse on
their way homewards, with here and there large Indian towns.
They had borne off their captive by dint of hoof far beyond the pur-
suit of his subjects ; but the utmost vigilance was requisite to prevent
his escape during this long and toilsome journey, and to prevent ex-
citing the hostilities of any confederate cacique. They had to avoid
the populous parts of the country, therefore, or to pass through the
Indian towns at full gallop. They suffered greatly from fatigue,
hunger, and watchfulness ; encountering many perils, fording and
swimming the numerous rivers of the plains, toiling through the
deep tangled forests, and clambering over the high and rocky
mountains. They accomplished all in safety, and Ojeda entered
Isabella in triumph from this most daring and characteristic enter-
prise, with his wild Indian warrior bound behind him a captive.

Columbus could not refrain from expressing his great satisfaction
when this dangerous foe was delivered into his hands. The haughty
Carib met him with a lofty and unsubdued air, disdaining to con-
ciliate him by submission, or to deprecate his vengeance for the
blood of white men which he had shed. He never bowed his spirit

* This romantic exploit of Ojeda is recorded at large by Las Casas, by his
copyist Herrera, (Decad. 1. L. 2, C. 16.) by Fernando Pizarro in his Varones II-
lustres del Nuevo Mundo, and by Charlevoix in his History of St. Domingo.
Peter Martyr and others have given it more concisely, alluding to, but not insert-
ing, its romantic details.

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. SI I

to captivity; on the contrary, though completely at the mercy of the
Spaniards, he displayed that boasting defiance which is a part of
Indian heroism, and which the savage maintains towards his tor-
mentors, even amidst the agonies of the faggot and the stake. He
vaunted his achievement in surprising and burning the fortress of
Nativity, and slaughtering its garrison, and declared that he had
secretly reconnoitred Isabella, with an intention of wreaking upon
it the same desolation.*

Columbus, though struck with the wild heroism of this fierce
chieftain, considered him a dangerous enemy, whom, for the peace
of the island, it was necessary carefully to guard. He determined
to send him to Spain; in the meantime, he ordered that he should
be treated with kindness and respect, and lodged him in a part of
his own dwelling house, where, however, he kept him a close pri-
soner in chains, probably in the splendid shackles which had ensnared
him. This precaution must have been necessary from the insecu-
rity of his prison, for Las Casas observes that the admiral's house
not being spacious, nor having many chambers, the passers-by in
the street could see the captive chieftain from the portal.f

Caonabo always maintained a haughty deportment towards Co-
lumbus, while he never evinced the least animosity against Ojeda,
for the artifice to which he had fallen a victim. It rather increased
his admiration of him, as a consummate warrior, looking upon it
as the exploit of a master spirit to have pounced upon him, and
borne him off in this hawk-like manner from the very midst of his
fighting men. There is nothing that an Indian more admires in
warfare than a deep well executed stratagem.

Columbus was accustomed to bear himself with an air of dignity
and authority as admiral and viceroy, and exacted great personal
respect. When he entered the apartment, therefore, where Cao-
nabo was confined, all present rose, according to custom, and paid
him reverence. The cacique alone neither moved, nor took any no-
tice of him. On the contrary, when Ojeda entered, though small in
person, and without external state, Caonabo immediately rose and
saluted him with profound respect. On being asked the reason of
this, Columbus being Guamiquina, or great chief over all, and
Ojeda but one of his subjects, the proud Carib replied that the ad-
miral had never dared to come personally to his house and seize
him, it was only through the valour of Ojeda he was his prisoner j
to Ojeda, therefore, he owed reverence, not to the admiral. J

The captivity of Caonabo was deeply felt by his subjects, for the

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 60.

*Lias Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 102. t Idem, ubi sup.

312 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book Vm.

natives of this island seem generally to have been extremely loyal,
and strongly attached to their caciques. One of the brothers of
Gaonabo, a warrior of great courage and address, and very popular
among the Indians, assembled an army of more than seven thousand
men, and led them secretly to the neighbourhood of St. Thomas,
where Ojeda was again in command. His intention was to surprise
a number of Spaniards, in hopes of obtaining his brother in exchange
for them. Ojeda, as usual, had notice of the design, but was not to
be again shut up in his fortress. Having been reinforced by a
detachment sent by the adelantado, he left a sufficient force in gar-
rison, and with the remainder, and his little troop of horse, set off
boldly to meet the savages. The brother of Caonabo, when he saw
the Spaniards approaching, showed some mihtary skill, disposing
of his army in five battalions. The impetuous attack of Ojeda,
however, who, according to his custom, rushed on furiously in the
advance with his handful of horsemen, threw the Indian warriors
into sudden panic. They could not withstand the terrible appear-
ance of these glittering steel-clad beings, wielding their flashing
weapons, and bestriding animals which appeared to be ferocious
beasts of prey. They threw down their weapons and took to flight ;
many were slain, more were taken prisoners, and among the latter
was the brother of Caonabo, bravely fighting in a righteous but
desperate cause.*

CHAPTER V.

ARRIVAL OF ANTONIO DE TORRES WITH FOUR SHIPS FROM
SPAIN HIS RETURN WITH INDIAN SLAVES.

[1494.]

The colony was still suflfering greatly from want of provisions;
the European stock was nearly exhausted, and such was the idle-
ness and improvidence of the colonists, or the confusion into which
they had been thrown by the hostilities of the natives, or such was
their exclusive eagerness after the precious metals, that they seem to

♦ Oviedo Cronica de las Indias, L. 3, C. 1. Charlevoix, Hist. Sv Doming. Lib
2, p. 131.

Civ^. v.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 9l$

have neglected the true wealth of the island, its quick and produc-
tive soil, and to have been in constant danger of famine, in the midst
of fertility.

At length their sufferings were relieved by the arrival of four
ships, commanded by Antonio Torres. They brought an ample
supply of provisions, which diffused universal joy. There were
also a physician and an apothecary, whose aid was greatly needed
m the sickly state of the colony; but above all, there were mecha-
nics, millers, fishermen, gardeners, and husbandmen ; the true,
wholesome kind of population for a colony, calculated to bring out
its best resources, and to produce that interchange of useful labour,
and of the necessaries of life, which renders a community thriving
and self-dependent.

The letters from the sovereigns brought by Torres, (dated 16
Aug. 1494,) were of the most gratifying kind, expressing the highest
satisfaction at the accounts sent home by the admiral, and acknow-
ledging that every thing in the course of his discoveries had turned
out as he had predicted. They evinced the liveliest interest in the
affairs of the colony, and a desire of receiving frequent intelligence
as to its situation, proposing that a caravel should sail each month
from Isabella and Spain. They informed him that all differences
with Portugal were amicably adjusted, and acquainted him with the
conventional agreement with that power, relative to a geographical
line, separating their newly discovered possessions ; requesting him
to have regard to this agreement in the course of his discoveries.
As in adjusting the arrangement with Portugal, and in drawing the
proposed line, it was important to have the best advice, the sove-
reigns requested Columbus to return, and be present at the conven-
tion ; or, in case that should be inconvenient, to send his brother
Bartholomew or any other person whom he should consider fully
competent, furnished with such maps, charts, and designs, as might
be of service in the negotiation.*

There was another letter addressed generally to the inhabitants
of the colony, and to all who should engage in voyages of discovery,
commanding them to obey Columbus as implicitly as they would
the sovereigns themselves, under pain of their high displeasure, and
a fine of ten thousand maravedis for each offence.

Such was the well-merited confidence reposed at this moment by
the sovereigns in Columbus, but which was soon to be blighted by
the insidious reports of worthless men. He was already aware of
the complaints and misrepresentations which had been sent home

* Herrera, Decad. 1, L. -2, C. 17. ^ ]5

314 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VIII

from the colony, and which would be enforced by Margarite and
Friar Bojde. He was aware that his standing in Spain was of
that uncertain kind which a stranger always possesses, in the ser-
vice of a foreign country, where he has no friends or connexions to
support him, and where his very merits increase the eagerness of
envy to cast him down. His efforts to promote the working of the
mines, and to explore the resources of the island, had been impeded
by the misconduct of Margarite, and the disorderly life of the Span-
iards in general ; yet he apprehended that the very evils which
they had produced would be alleged against him, and the want of
profitable returns be cited to discredit and embarrass his expeditions.

To counteract any misrepresentations of the kind, Columbus
hastened the return of the ships, and would have returned with
them, not merely to comply with the wishes of the sovereigns in
being present at the drawing of the geographical line, but to vindi-
cate himself and his enterprises from the aspersions of his enemies.
The malady, however, which confined him to his bed, prevented his
departure ; and his brother Bartholomew was required to aid, with
his practical good sense and his resolute spirit, in regulating the
disordered affairs of the island. It was determined, therefore, to
send home his brother Diego, to attend to the wishes of the sove-
reigns, and to take care of his interests at court. At the same
lime, he exerted himself to the utmost to send by the ships satisfac-
tory proofs of the value of his discoveries. He remitted by them
all the gold that he could collect, with specimens of other metals,
and of various fruits, and valuable plants, which he had collected
either in Hispaniola, or in the course of his voyage. In his eager-
ness to produce immediate profit, and to indemnify the sovereigns
for those expenses which bore hard upon the royal treasury, he sent,
likewise, above five hundred Indian prisoners, who, he suggested,
might be sold as slaves at Seville.

It is painful to find the brilliant renown of Columbus sullied by
so foul a stain, and the glory of his enterprises degraded by such
flagrant violations of humanity. The customs of the times, how-
ever, must be pleaded in his apology. The precedent had been
given long before, by both Spaniards and Portuguese, in their Afri-
can discoveries, wherein the trafiic in slaves had formed one of the
greatest sources of profit. In fact, the practice had been sanctioned
by the highest authority ; by that of the church itself; and the most
learned theologians had pronounced all barbarous and infidel nations,
who shut their ears to the truths of Christianity, as fair objects of
war and rapine, of captivity and slavery. If Columbus needed any
practical illustration of this doctrine, he had it in the conduct of

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 31^

Ferdinand himself, in his late wars with the Moors of Granada, in
which he had always been surrounded bj a cloud of ghostly advi-
sers, and had professed to do every thing for the glory and advance-
ment of the faith. In this holy war, as it was termed, it was a
common practice to make inroads into the Moorish territories and
carry off cavalgadas, not merely of flocks and herds, but of human
beings, and those, not warriors taken with weapons in their hands,
but quiet villagers, labouring peasantry, and helpless women and
children. These were carried to the mart at Seville, or to other
populous towns, and sold into slavery. The capture of Malaga was
a memorable instance, where, as a punishment for an obstinate and
brave defence, which should have excited admiration rather than re^
venge, eleven thousand people, of both sexes, and of all ranks and
ages, many of them highly cultivated, and delicately reared, were
suddenly torn from their homes, severed from each other, and swept
into menial slavery, even though half of their ransoms had been paid.
These circumstances are not advanced to vindicate, but to palliate
the conduct of Columbus. He acted but in conformity to the cus-
toms of the times, and was sanctioned by the example of the sove-
reign under whom he served.

Las Casas, the zealous and enthusiastic advocate of the Indians,
who suffers no opportunity to escape him of exclaiming in vehement
terms against their slavery, speaks with indulgence of Columbus
on this head. "If those pious and learned men," he observes,
" whom the sovereigns took for guides and instructers were so igno-
rant of the injustice of this practice it is no wonder that the unlet-
tered admiral should not be conscious of its impropriety."*

CHAPTER VI.

BXPEDITIOX OF COLUMBUS AGAINST THE INDIANS OF THE
VEGA BATTLE.

. f 1494.]

NToTwiTHSTANDiNG the defeat of the Indians by Ojeda, they still
retained hostile intentions against the Spaniards. The idea of their
cacique being a prisoner and in chains, enraged the natives of Ma-

* Las Casas, Hist. Ind. T. 1, Cap. 122. MS.

316 UFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VID.

guana, and the general sympathy manifested by other tribes of the
island show how widely that intelligent savage had extended his
iafluence, and how greatly he was admired. He had still active
and powerful relatives remaining to attempt his rescue, or revenge
his fall. One of his brothers, Manicdotex by name, a Carib, bold
and warlike as himself, succeeded to the sway over his subjects.
His favourite wife also, Anacaona, so famous for her charms, had
great influence over her brother Behechio, cacique of the populous
province of Xaragua. Thiough these means a violent and general
hostility to the Spaniards was excited throughout the island, and
the formidable league of the caciques, which Caonabo had in vain
attempted to accomplish when at large, was produced by his cap-
tivity. Guacanagari, the cacique of Marien, alone remained friendly
to the Spaniards, giving them timely information of the gathering
storm, and offering to take the field with them as a faithful ally.

The protracted illness of Columbus, the scantiness of his military
force, and the wretched state of the colonists in general, reduced by
sickness and scarcity to great bodily weakness, had hitherto induced
him to try every means of conciliation and stratagem to avert and
dissolve the confederacy. He had at length recovered his health ;
and his followers were in some degree refreshed and invigorated by
the supplies brought by the ships. At this time he received intelli-
gence that the allied caciques were actually assembled in great force
in the Vega, within two days' march of Isabella, with an intention
of making a general assault upon the settlement, and overwhelming
it by numbers. Columbus resolved to take the field at once, and to
carry the war into the territories of the enemy, rather than suffer it
to be brought into his own dominions.

The whole sound and effective force that he could muster in the
present infirm state of the colony, did not exceed two hundred in-
fantry and twenty horse. They were armed with crossbows,
swords, lances, and espingardas, or heavy arquebusses, which in
those days were used with rests, and sometimes mounted on wheels.
With these formidable weapons, a handful of European warriors,
cased in steel, and covered with bucklers, were able to cope with
thousands of naked savages. They had aid of another kind, how-
ever, consisting of twenty bloodhounds, animals scarcely less terrible
to the Indians than the horses, and infinitely more fatal. They were
fearless and ferocious; nothing daunted them, nor, when they had
once seized upor» cfteir prey, could any thing compel them to relin-
quish their hold. The naked bodies of the Indians offered no de-
fence against their attacks. They sprang on them, dragged them
to the earth, and tore them to pieces.

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 317

The admiral was accompanied in this expedition hy his brother
Bartholomew, whose counsel and aid he sought on all occasions,
and who had not merely great personal force and undaunted cou-
rage, but also a decidedly military turn of mind. Guacanagari also
brought his people into the field : neither he nor his subjects, how-
ever, were of a warlike character, nor calculated to render much
assistance. The chief advantage of his co-operation was, that it
completely severed him from the other caciques, and ensured the
dependence of himself and his subjects upon the Spaniards. In the
present infant state of the colony, its chief security depended upon
jealousies and dissensions sown among the native powers of the
island.

It was on the 24th of March, 1495, that Columbus issued forth
from Isabella with his little army, and advanced by marches of ten
leagues a day in quest of the enemy. He ascended again to the
mountain pass of the cavaliers, from whence he had first looked
down upon the Vega. With what different feelings did he now con-
template it ! The vile passions of the white men had already con-
verted this smiling, beautiful, and once peaceful and hospitable,
region into a land of wrath and hostility. Wherever the smoke of
an Indian town rose from among the trees and floated in the clear
atmosphere, it marked a horde of exasperated enemies ; and the deep
rich forests below him swarmed with lurking warriors. In the pic-
ture which his imagination had drawn of the peaceful and inoffen
sive nature of this people, he had flattered himself with the idea of
ruling over them as a patron and benefactor, but now he found him-
self compelled to assume the odious character of a conqueror.

The Indians, had notice, by their scouts, of his approach, but
though they had already had some slight experience of the warfare
of the white men, they were filled with confidence by the vast su-
periority of their numbers, which it is said amounted to one hundred
thousand men.* This is probably an exaggeration: as Indians
never draw out into the open field, in order of battle, but lurk among
the forests, it is difficult to ascertain their force, and their rapid move-
ments, and sudden sallies and retreats from various parts, together
with the wild shouts and yells from opposite quarters of the wood-
lands, are calculated to give an exaggerated idea of their number.
The army must, however, have been great, as it consisted of the
combined forces of several caciques of this populous island. It was
commanded by Manicaotex, the brother of Caonabo. The Indians,
who were little skilled in numeration, and incapable of reckoning

* t-as Ceisas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, Cap. 104. MS, 2 B 2

518 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VHI.

beyond ten, had a simple mode of ascertaining and describing the
force of an enemy, by counting out a grain of maize or Indian corn
for every warrior. When, therefore, the spies, who had watched
from rocks and thickets, the march of Columbus, came back with
a mere handful of corn as the amount of his army, the caciques
scoffed at the idea of so scanty a number making head against their
countless multitude.*

Columbus drew near to the enetny about the place where the town
of St. Jago has since been built. Having ascertained the great force
of the Indians, Don Bartholomew advised that their little army
should be divided into detachments, and should attack the enemy
at the same moment from several quarters : this plan was adopted.
The infantry separating into different bodies, advanced suddenly
from various directions, with great din of drums and trumpets, and
a destructive discharge of firearms from the covert of the trees.
The Indians were struck with panic, and thrown into complete con-
fusion. An army seemed pressing upon them from every quarter ;
their fellow warriors were laid low by the balls of the arquebusses^
which seemed to burst with thunder and lightning from the forests.
While driven together and confounded by these attacks, Alonzo de
Ojeda charged impetuously on their main body with his troop of ca-
valry, cutting his way into the centre with lance and sabre. The
horses bore down the terrified Indians, while their riders dealt their
blows on all sides unopposed. The bloodhounds were at the sami tim©
let loose, and rushed with sanguinary fury upon the naked rwi> ages,
seizing them by the throat, dragging them to the earth, avA tearing
out their bowels. The Indians, unaccustomed to large and fierce
quadrupeds of any kind, were struck with horror when assailed hy
these ferocious animals. They thought the horses equally fierce
and devouring. The contest, if such it might be called, was of
short duration. What resistance could a multitude of naked, un-
warlike, and undisciplined savages make, with no o'.her arms than
clubs and arrows, and darts hardened in the fire, dgainst soldiers
clad in iron, wielding weapons of steel, and tremendous firearms,
and aided by ferocious monsters whose very aspect struck terror
to the heart of the stoutest warrior !

The Indians fled in every direction with yells and bowlings ; some
clambered to the top of rocks and precipices, from whence they
made piteous supplications and offers of complete submission; many
were killed, many made prisoners, and the confederacy was for thf
time completely broken up and dispersed,

• Las Casas, ubi sup.

Chap. VII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 319

Guacanagari had accompanied the Spaniards into the field, ac-
cording to his promise ; but he was Httle more than a spectator of
this battle, or rather rout. ' He was not of a martial spirit, and both
he and his subjects must have shrunk with awe at this unusual and
terrific burst of war, even though on the part of their allies. His
participation in the hostilities of the white men was never forgiven
by the other caciques, and he returned to his dominions followed by
the hatred and execrations of all the islanders.

CHAPTER VII.

SUBJUGATION OF THE NATIVES — IMPOSITION OF TRIBUTE.
[1495.]

Columbus followed up his victory by making a military tour
through various parts of the island, and reducing them to obedience.
The natives made occasional attempts at opposition, but they were
easily checked. The troop of cavalry headed by Ojeda was found
of great efficacy in this service, from the rapidity of its movements,
the active intrepidity of its commander, and especially from the
great terror inspired by the horses. There was no service too wild
and hazardous for Ojeda. If any head of war arose in a distant
part of the country, he would penetrate with his little squadron of
hard riders through the depths of the forests and fall suddenly like a
thunderbolt upon the enemy, disconcerting all their combinations,
and enforcing implicit submission.

The Royal Vega was soon brought into subjection. Being an
immense plain, perfectly level, it was easily overrun by the horse-
men, whose appearance overawed the most populous villages. Gua-
rionex, its sovereign cacique, was of a mild and placable character,
and though he had been roused to war by the instigation of the
neighbouring chieftains, he readily submitted to the domination of the
Spaniards. Manicaotex, the brother of Caonabo, was also obliged
to sue for peace, and being the prime mover of the confederacy, the
other caciques followed his example. Behechio alone, the cacique
of Xaragua, and brother-in-law of Caonabo, made no overtures of
submission. His territories lay remote from Isabella, at the western
extremity of the island, around the deep bay called the Bight of

320 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VIII.

Leogan, and the long peninsula called Cape Tiburon. They were
difficult of access, and had not as yet been visited by the white men.
He retired into the bosom of his domains, *taking with him his sister,
the beautiful Anacaona, wife of Caonabo, whom he cherished with
fraternal affection under her misfortunes,, who soon acquired almost
equal sway over his subjects with himself, and was destined subse-
quently to make some figure in the events of the island.

Having been forced to take the field by the confederacy of the
caciques, Columbus now asserted the right of a conqueror, and
considered how he might turn his conquest to most profit. His con-
stant anxiety was to make wealthy returns to Spain, for the purpose
of indemnifying the sovereigns for their great expenses ; of meeting
the public expectations so extravagantly excited ; and above all, of
silencing the calumnies of those who he knew had gone home de-
termined to make the most discouraging representations of his dis-
coveries. He endeavoured, therefore, to raise a large and immediate
revenue from the island, by imposing heavy tributes on the subjected
provinces. In those of the Vega, Cibao, and all the region of the
mines, each individual above the age of fourteen years, was required
to pay, every three months, the measure of a Flemish hawk's bell
of gold dust.* The caciques had to pay a much larger amount for
their personal tribute. Manic aotex, the brother of Caonabo, was
obliged individually to render in, every three months, half a cala-
bash of gold, amounting to one hundred and fifty pesos. In those
districts which were distant from the mines, and produced no gold,
each individual was required to furnish an arroba (twenty-five
pounds) of cotton every three months. Each Indian on rendering
this tribute, received a copper medal as a certificate of payment
which he was to wear suspended round his neck ; those who were
found without such documents, were liable to arrest and punish-
ment.

The taxes and tributes thus imposed bore hard upon the spirit of
the natives, accustomed to be but lightly taxed by their caciques ;
and the caciques themselves found the exactions intolerably griev-
ous. Guarionex, the sovereign of the Royal Vega, represented to
Columbus the difficulty he had in complying with the terms of his
tribute. His richly fertile plain yielded no gold ; and though the
mountains on his borders contained mines, and their brooks and tor-

* A hawk's bell, according to Las Casas, (Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 105,) contained
about three castellanos worth of gold dust, equal to five dollars, and in estimating
the superior value of gold in those days, equivalent to fifteen dollars of our time.
A quantity of gold worth 150 castellanos was equivalent to 798 dollars of the
present day.

Cha^. Vlf.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 321

rents washed down g-old dust into the sands of the rivers, yet his sub-
jects were not skilled in the art of collecting it. He proffered, there-
fore, instead of the tribute required, to cultivate with grain a band
of country stretching across the island from sea to sea ; enough,
says Las Casas, to have furnished all Castile with bread for ten
years.* His offer was rejected. Columbus knew that gold alone
would satisfy the avaricious dreams excited in Spain, and ensure
the popularity and success of his enterprises. Seeing, however, the
difficulty that many of the Indians had in furnishing the amount of
gold dust required of them, he lowered the demand to the measure
of one half of a hawk's bell. It is a curious circumstance, and
might furnish some poetical conceits, that the miseries of the poor
natives should thus be measured out, as it were, by the very baubles
which first fascinated them.

To enforce the payment of these tributes, and to maintain the sub-
jection of the island, Columbus put the fortress already built in a
strong state of defence, and erected others. Beside those of Isabella,
and of St. Thomas, in the mountains of Cibao, there were now the
fortress of Magdalena, in the Royal Vega, three or four leagues
from the place where the town of Santiago was afterwards built ;
another called Catalina, the site of which is forgotten; another
called Esperanza, on the banks of the river Yagui in Cibao; but
the most important of those recently erected was fort Conception, in
one of the most fruitful and beautiful parts of the Vega, about fifteen
leagues to the east of Magdalena, controlling the extensive and po-
pulous domains of Guarionex.f

In this way was the yoke of servitude fixed upon the island, and
its thraldom effectually ensured. Deep despair now fell upon the
natives when they found a perpetual task inflicted upon them, en-
forced at stated and frequently recurring periods. Weak and indolent
by nature, unused to labour of any kind, and brought up in the un-
tasked idleness of their soft climate, and their fruitful groves, death
itself seemed preferable to a life of toil and anxiety. They saw no
end to this harassing evil, which had so suddenly fallen upon
them ; no escape from its all-pervading influence; no prospect of
return to that roving independence and ample leisure, so dear to the
wild inhabitants of the forest. The pleasant life of the island was
at an end ; the dream in the shade by day ; the slumber during the
sultry noontide heat by the fountain or the stream, or under the
spreading palm-tree ; and the song, the dance, and the game, in the
mellow evening, when summoned to their simple amusements by the

* Los Casas, H. Ind. L. 1, C, 105. i Idem, ubi sup. C. 110.
Vol. I. 21

322 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VIII

rude Indian drum. They were now obliged to grope, day by day,
with bending body and anxious eye, along the borders of their rivers,
sifting the sands for the grains of gold which every day grew more
scanty; or to labour in their fields, beneath the fervour of a tropical
sun, to raise food for their taskmasters, or to produce the vegetable
tribute imposed upon them. They sunk to sleep weary and exhausted
at night, with the certainty that the next day was but to be a repe-
tition of the same toil and suffering. Or if they occasionally in-
dulged in their national dances, the ballads to which they kept time
were of a melancholy and plaintive character. They spoke of the
times that were past, before the white men had introduced sor-
row and slavery and weary labour among them ; and they rehearsed
pretended prophecies handed down from' their ancestors, foretelling
the invasion of the Spaniards ; that strangers should come into their
island, clothed in apparel, with swords capable of cleaving a man
asunder at a blow, under whose yoke their posterity should be sub-
dued. These ballads or areytos they sang with mournful tunes and
doleful voices, bewailing the loss of their liberty, and their painful
servitude.*

They had flattered themselves, for a time, that the visit of the
strangers would be but temporary, and that, spreading their ample
sails, their ships would once more bear them back to their home in
the sky. In their snnplicity, they had repeatedly inquired when
they intended to return to Turey, or the heavens. They now beheld
them taking root, as it were, in the island. They beheld their ves-
sels lying idly and rotting in the harbour, while the crews, scattered
about the country, were building habitations and fortresses, the solid
construction of which, unlike their own slight cabins, gave evi-
dence of permanent abode, f

Finding how vain was all attempt to deliver themselves by war-
like means from these invincible intruders, they now concerted a for-
lorn and desperate mode of annoyance. They perceived that the
settlement suffered greatly from shortness of provisions, and depend-
ed, in a considerable degree, upon the supplies furnished by the
natives. The fortresses in the interior, also, and the Spaniards quar
tered in the villages, looked almost entirely to them for subsistence
They agreed, therefore, among themselves, not to cultivate the fruits,
the roots, and maize, which formed their chief articles of food, and
to destroy those already growing ; hoping that thus, by producing a
famine, they might starve the strangers from the island. They little
knew, observes Las Casas, one of the characteristics of the Span

* Peter Martyr, Decad. 3, L, 9. t Las Casas, Hist, Ind. L. 1, C. 106,

Chap. VH.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. ^23

iards ; who, the more hungry they are, the more inflexible they be-
come, and the more hardened to endure suifering.* They carried
their plan generally into effect, abandoning their habitations, laying
waste the produce of their fields and groves, and retiring to the
mountains, where there were roots and herbs on which they could
subsist, and abundance of those kind of rabbits called utias.

This measure did indeed produce much distress among the Span-
iards ; but they had foreign resources, and were enabled to endure it
by husbanding the partial supplies brought by their ships ; the most
disastrous effects fell upon the natives themselves. The Spaniards
stationed in the various fortresses, finding that there was not only no
hope of tribute, but a danger of famine, from this wanton waste and
sudden desertion, pursued the natives to their retreats, to compel
them to return to labour. The Indians took refuge in the most ste-
ril and dreary heights ; flying from one wild retreat to another, the
women with their children in their arms or at their backs, and all
worn out with fatigue and hunger, and harassed by perpetual
alarms. In every noise of the forest or the mountain they fancied
they heard the sound of their pursuers; they hid themselves in
damp and dismal caverns, or in the rocky banks and margins of the
torrents, and, not daring to hunt, or fish, or even to venture forth in
quest of nourishing roots and vegetables, they had to satisfy their
raging hunger with unwholesome food. In this way many thou-
sands of them perished miserably, through famine, fatigue, terror,
and various contagious maladies engendered by their sufferings.
AH spirit of opposition was at length completely quelled. The sur-
viving Indians returned in despair to their, habitations, and submitted
humbly to the yoke. So deep an awe did they conceive of their
conquerors, that it is said a Spaniard might go singly and securely
all over the island, and the natives would even transport him from
place to place on their shoulders, f

Before passing on to other events, it may be proper here to notice
the fate of Guacanagari, as he makes no further appearance in the
course of this history. His friendship for the Spaniards had se-
vered him from his countrymen, but it did not exonerate him from
the general woes of the island. His territories, like those of the other
caciques, were subjected to a tribute, which his people, with the
common repugnance to labour, found it difficult to pay. Columbus,
who knew his worth, and could have protected him, was long ab-

* No Conociendo la propriedad de los Espanoles, los cuales cuanto mas hambri
entos, tanto mayor teson tienen y mas duros son de sufrir y para sufrir. Las
Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 106.

t Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 106. Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 60.

324 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII,

sent, either in the interior of the island, or detained in Europe by
his own wrongs. In the interval, the Spaniards forgot the hospi-
tality and services of Guacanagari, and his tribute was harshly ex-
acted. He found himself overwhelmed with opprobrium from his
countrymen at large, and assailed by the clamours and lamenta-
tions of his suffering subjects. The strangers whom he had suc-
coured in distress, and taken as it were to the bosom of his native
island, had become its tyrants and oppressors. Care, and toil, and
poverty, and strong-handed violence, had spread their curses over
the land, and he felt as if he had invoked them on his race. Unable
to bear the hostilities of his fellow caciques, the woes of his subjects,
and the extortions of his ungrateful allies, he took refuge at last in
the mountains, where he died obscurelj'' and in misery.*

An attempt has been made by Oviedo to defame the character of
this Indian prince ; it is not for Spaniards, however, to excuse theii
own ingratitude by casting a stigma upon his name. He appears to
have always manifested towards them that true friendship which
shines brightest in the dark days of adversity. He might have
played a nobler part, in making a stand with his brother caciques,
to drive these intruders from his native soil ; but he appears to have
been fascinated by his admiration of the strangers, and his personal
attachment to Columbus. He was bountiful, hospitable, affection-
ate, and kind-hearted : competent to rule a gentle and unwarlike
people in the happier days of the island, but unfitted, through the
softness of his nature, for the stern turmoil which followed the arri-
val of the white men.

CHAPTER VIII.

INTRIGUES AGAINST COLUMBUS IN THE COURT OF SPAIN AGU*

ADO SENT TO INVESTIGATE THE AFFAIRS OF HISPANIOLA.

[1495.]

While Columbus was endeavouring to remedy the evils produced
by the misconduct of Margarite and his followers, that recreant com*
mander, and his politic coadjutor, father Boyle, were busily under-
mining his reputation in the court of Castile. They accused him of

• Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming. Lib. 2.

Chap. VIII.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 325

deceiving the sovereigns and the public, by extravagant descriptions
of the countries he had discovered ; they pronounced the island of
Hispaniola a source of expense rather than profit ; and they drew a
dismal picture of the sufferings of the colony, occasioned, as they
said, by the oppressions of Columbus and his brothers. They
charged them with tasking the community with excessive labour
during a time of general sickness and debility ; with stopping the
rations of individuals on the most trifling pretext, to the great detri-
ment of their healths ; with wantonly inflicting severe corporal pu-
nishments on the common people ; and with heaping indignities on
Spanish gentlemen of rank. They said nothing, however, of the
exigencies which had called for unusual labour ; nor of the idleness
nor profligacy of the comraonaity, which required coercion and
chastisement ; nor of the seditious cabals of the Spanish cavaliers,
who had been treated with indulgence rather than severity. In ad-
dition to these complaints, they represented the state of confusion of
the island in consequence of the absence of the admiral, and the un-
certainty which prevailed concerning his fate ; intimating the pro-
bability of his having perished in his foolhardy attempts to explore
unknown seas, and discover unprofitable lands.

These prejudiced and exaggerated representations derived much
weight from the official standing of Margarite and father Boyle.
They were supported by the testimony of many individuals, the dis-
contented and factious idlers of the colony, who had returned with
them to Spain. Some of these persons had connexions of rank who
were ready to resent, with Spanish haughtiness, what they consi-
dered the arrogant assumptions of an ignoble foreigner. Thus the
popularity of Columbus received a vital blow, and immediately
began to decline. The confidence of the sovereigns also was im-
paired, and precautions were adopted which savour strongly of the
cautious and suspicious pohcy of Ferdinand.

It was determined to send some person of trust and confidence, who
should take upon himself the government of the island, in case of
the continued absence of the admiral, and who, even in the event of
his return, should inquire into the alleged evils and abuses, and
remedy such as should appear really in existence. The person pro-
posed for this delicate office was Diego Carillo, a commander of a
military order ; but as he was not immediately prepared to sail with
the fleet of caravels about to depart with supplies, the sovereigns
wrote to Fonseca, the superintendent of India aflfairs, to send some
trusty person with the vessels, to take charge of the provisions with
which they were freighted. These he was to distribute among the
colonists, under the sup«:vision of the admiral ; or, in case of his

2 C

326 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII.

absence, in presence of those in authority. He was also to collect
information concerning the manner in which the island had been
governed ; the conduct of persons in office ; the causes and authors
of existing grievances ; and the measures by which they were to be
remedied. Having collected such information, he was to return and
make report to the sovereigns ; but in case he should find the admiral
at the island, every thing was to remain subject to his control.

There was another measure adopted by the sovereigns about this
time, which likewise shows the declining favour of Columbus. On
the 10th of April, 1495, a proclamation was issued, giving general
permission to native-born subjects to settle in the island of Hispani-
ola, and to go on private voyages of discovery and traffic to the new
world. This was granted, subject to certain conditions.

All vessels were to sail exclusively from the port of Cadiz, and
under the inspection of officers appointed by the crown. Those who
embarked for Hispaniola without pay, and at their own expense,
were to have lands assigned them, and to be provisioned for one year,
with a right to retain such lands, and all houses they might erect
upon them. Of all gold which they might collect, they were to
retain one third for themselves, and pay the remaining two thirds to
the crown. Of all other articles of merchandise, the produce of the
island, they were to pay merely one tenth to the crown. Their pur-
chases were to be made in presence of officers appointed by the
sovereigns, and the royal dues paid into the hands of the king's
receiver.

Each ship sailing on private enterprise, was to take one or two
persons to be named by the royal officers at Cadiz. One tenth of the
tonnage of the ship was to be at the service of the crown free of
charge. One tenth of w^hatever such ships should procure in the
newly discovered countries, was to be paid to the crown on their
return. These regulations, included private ships trading to His-
paniola with provisions.

For every vessel thus fitted out on private adventure, Columbus,
in consideration of his privilege of an eighth of tonnage, was to
have the right to freight one on his own account.

This general license for voyages of discovery was made in conse
quence of the earnest applications of Vincent Yanez Pinzon, and
other able and intrepid navigators, most of whom had sailed with
Columbus. They offisred to make voyages at their own cost and
hazard. The offer was tempting, and well timed. The govern
ment was poor, the expeditions of Columbus were expensive, yet
their object was too important to be neglected. Here was an oppor
tunity of attaining all the ends proposed, not merely without ex-

Chap. VIIL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 32?

pense, but with a certainty of gain. The permission, therefore,
was granted without consulting the opinion or the wishes of the
admiral It was loudly complained of by him, as an infringement
of his privileges, and as disturbing the career of regular and well
organized discovery, by the licentious, and sometimes predatory
enterprises of reckless adventurers. Doubtless much of the odium
that has attached itself to the Spanish discoveries in the New World,
has arisen from the grasping avidity of private individuals.

Just at this Juncture, in the early part of April, while the interests
of Columbus were in such a critical situation, the ships commanded
by Torres arrived in Spain. They brought intelligence of the safe
return of the admiral to Hispaniola, from his voyage along the
southern coast of Cuba, with the evidence which he had collected,
to prove that it was the extremity of the Asiatic continent, and that
he had penetrated to the borders of the wealthiest countries of the
east Specimens were likewise brought of the gold, and the various
animal and vegetable curiosities, which he had procured in the
course of this voyage. No arrival could have been more timely.
It at once removed all doubts respecting his safety, and obviated the
necessity of part of the precautionary measures on the point of
being taken. The supposed discovery of the rich coast of Asia,
also, threw a temporary splendour about his expedition, and again
awakened the gratitude of the sovereigns. The effect was imme-
diately apparent in their measures. Instead of leaving it to the
discretion of Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca to appoint whom he
pleased to the commission of inquiry about to be sent out, they re-
tracted that power, and nominated Juan Aguado.

He was chosen because, on returning from Hispaniola, he had
been strongly recommended to royal favour by Columbus. It was
intended, therefore, as a mark of delicacy to the latter, to appoint as
oommissioner a person of whom he had expressed so high an opinion,
and who, it was to be presumed, entertained for him a grateful
regard,

Fonseca, in virtue of his official station as superintendent of the
affairs of the Indias, and probably to gratify his growing animosity
for Columbus, had detained a quantity of gold which Don Diego,
brother to the admiral, had brought on his own private account.
The sovereigns wrote to him repeatedly, ordering him not to demand
the gold, or if he had seized it to return it immediately, with satis-
factory explanations, and to write to Columbus in terms calculated
to soothe any angry feelings which he might have excited. He
was ordered also to consult the persons recently arrived from His-
paniola, in what manner he could yield satisfaction to the admiral,

fSS~ LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book Vin.

and to act accordingly. Fonseca thus suffered one of the severest
humiliations of an arrogant spirit, that of being obliged to make
atonement for its arrogance. It quickened, however, the malice
which he had conceived against the admiral and his family. Un-
fortunately, his official situation, and the royal confidence which he
enjoyed, gave him opportunities of gratifying it subsequently in a
thousand insidious ways.

While the sovereigns thus endeavoured to avoid every thing that
might give umbrage to Columbus, they took certain measures to
provide for the tranquillity of the colony. In a letter to the admi-
ral, they directed that the number of persons in the settlement should
be limited to five hundred ; a greater number being considered un-
necessary for the service of the island, and a burthensome expense
to the crown. To prevent further discontents about provisions, they
ordered that the rations of individuals should be dealt out in portions
every fifteen days; and that all punishment by short allowance, or
the stoppage of rations, should be discontinued, as tending to injure
the healths of the colonists, who required every assistance of nou-
rishing diet, to fortify them against the maladies incident to a
strange climate.

An able and experienced metallurgist, named Pablo Belvis, was
sent out in place of the wrong-headed Fermin Cedo. He was fur-
nished with all the necessary engines and implements for mining,
and assaying, and purifying the precious metals, and with liberal
pay and privileges. Ecclesiastics were also sent to supply the place
of father Boyle and of certain of his brethren, who desired to leave
the island. The instruction and conversion of the natives continued
to awaken more and more the generous solicitude of the queen. In
the ships of Torres, a large number of Indians arrived, who had
been captured in the recent wars with the caciques. Royal orders
had been issued that they should be sold as slaves in the markets of
Andalusia, as had been the custom with respect to negroes taken on
the coast of Africa, and to Moorish prisoners captured in the war
with Granada. Isabella, however, had been deeply interested by
the accounts given of the gentle and hospitable character of th^se
islanders, and of their great docility. The discovery had been
'nade under her immediate auspices; she looked upon these people
as under her peculiar care, and she anticipated with pious enthu-
siasm the triumph of leading them from darkness into the path of
light. Her compassionate spirit revolted at the idea of treating
them as slaves, even though sanctioned by the customs of the times.
Within five days after the royal order for the sale, a letter was writ-
ten by the sovereigns to bishop Fonseca, suspending that order, untU

Chap. IX.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 329

they could inquire into the cause for which the Indians had been
made prisoners, and consult learned and pious theologians whether
their sale would be justifiable in the sight of God.* Much differ-
ence of opinion took place among divines on this important question ;
the queen eventually decided it according to the dictates of her own
pure conscience and charitable heart. She ordered that the Indians
should be sent back to their native country, and enjoined that the
islanders should be conciliated by the gentlest means, instead of
being treated with severity. Unfortunately, her orders came too
late to Hispaniola to have the desired effect. The scenes of war-
fare and violence produced by the bad passions of the colonists, and
the vengeance of the natives, were not to be forgotten, and mutual
distrust and rankling animosity had grown up between them, which
»o after exertions could eradicate,

CHAPTER IX

ARRIVAL OF AGUADO AT ISABELLA HIS ARROGANT CONDUCT- -

TEMPEST IN THE HARBOUR.

[1495.]

Juan Aguado set sail from Spain towards the end of August, with
four caravels, well freighted with supplies of all kinds for the colony.
Don Diego Columbus returned in this squadron to Hispaniola, and
arrived at Isabella in the month of October, while the admiral was
absent, occupied in re-establishing the tranquiUity of the interior.
Aguado, as has already been shown, was under obligations to Co-
lumbus, who had distinguished him from among his companions,
and had recommended him to the favour of the sovereigns. He was,
however, one of those weak men, whose heads are turned by the least
elevation. Puffed up by a little temporary power, he lost sight, not
merely of the respect and gratitude due to Columbus, but of the na-
ture and extent of his own commission. Instead of acting as an
agent employed to collect -information, he assumed a tone of au-
thority, us though the reins of government had been transferred into

* Letter of the sovereigns to Fonseca, Navarrete, CoUeccion de los Viages, T
11, Doc. 92. ^^g

330 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIH.

his hands. He interfered in public aiFairs ; ordered various persona
to be arrested ; called to account the officers employed by the admi-
ral ; and paid no respect to Don Bartholomew Columbu», who re-
mained in command during the absence of his brother. The Ade^
lantado, astonished at this presumption, demanded a sight of the
commission under which he acted ; but Aguado treated him with
great haughtiness, replying that he would show it only to the ad-
miral. On second thoughts, however, lest there should be doubts in
the public mind of his right to interfere in the affairs of the colony,
he ordered his letter of credence from the sovereigns to be pompously
proclaimed by sound of trumpet. It was brief but comprehensive i
to the following purport : " Cavaliers, esquires, and other persons
who by our orders are in the Indias, we send to you Juan Aguado,
our groom of the chambers, who will speak to you on our part. We
command you to give him faith and credit."

The report now circulated, that the downfal of Columbus and his
family was at hand ; and that an auditor had arrived empowered to
hear and to redress the grievances of the public. This was origina-
ted by Aguado himself, who threw out menaces of rigid investiga-
tions and signal punishments. It was a time of jubilee for offenders^
Every culprit started up into an accuser ; every one who by neg-
ligence or crime had incurred the wholesome penalties of the laws,
was loud in his clamours against the oppression of Columbus.
There were ills enough in the colony ; some incident to its situation,
others produced by the misdeeds of the colonists ; but all were as^
cribed to the maleadministration of the admiral. He was made re-
sponsible alike for the evils produced by others, and for his own stern
remedies. All the old complaints were reiterated against him and
his brothers, and the usual and illiberal cause given for their oppres-
sions, that they were foreigners who sought merely their own in-
terest and aggrandizement, at the expense of the sufferings and the
indignities of Spaniards.

Destitute of discrimination to perceive what was tine and what
false in these complaints, and anxious only to condemn, Aguado saw
in every thing conclusive testimony of the culpability of Cohimbus.
He intimated, and perhaps thought, that the admiral was keeping
at a distance from Isabella, through fear of encountering his inves-
tigations. In the fulness of his presumption, he even set out with a
body of horse to go in quest of him. A vain and weak man in
power is prone to have satellites of his own description. The arro-
gant and boasting followers of Aguado, wherever they went, spread
rumours among the natives of the might and importance of their
chief, and of the punishment he intended to inflict upon Columbus

I

Chap. IX.J CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 331

In a little while, the report circulated through the island, that a new
admiral had arrived to administer the government, and that the
former one was to be put to death.

The news of the arrival and of the arrogant conduct of Aguado
had reached Columbus in the interior of the island ; he immediately
hastened to Isabella to give him a meeting. Aguado, hearing of
his approach, also returned there. As every one knew the lofty
spirit of Columbus, his high sense of his services, and his jealous
maintenance of his official dignity, a violent explosion was anticipa-
ted at the impending interview. Aguado also expected something
of the kind, but, secure in his royal letter of credence, he looked
forward with the ignorant audacity of a little mind to the result.
The sequel showed how difficult it is for petty spirits to anticipate
the conduct of a man like Columbus in any extraordinary situation.
His natural heat and impetuosity had been subdued by a life of
trials ; he had learned to bring his passions into subjection to his
judgment ; he had too true an estimate of his own dignity to enter
into a contest with a shallow boaster like Aguado ; above all, he had
a profound reverence for the authority of his sovereigns; for in his
enthusiastic spirit, prone to deep feelings of reverence, his loyalty
was inferior only to his religion. He received Aguado, therefore,
with the most grave and punctilious courtesy, and retorted upon
him his own ostentatious ceremonial, ordering that the letter of cre-
dence should be again proclaimed by sound of trumpet in presence
of the populace. He listened to it with solemn deference, and as-
sured Aguado of his readiness to acquiesce in whatever might be the
pleasure of his sovereigns.

This unexpected moderation, while it astonished the beholders^
foiled and disappointed Aguado. He had come prepared for a scene
of altercation, and had hoped that Columbus, in the heat and
impatience of the moment, would have said or done something that
might have been construed into a disrespect for the authority of the
sovereigns. He endeavoured, in fact, some months afterwards to
procure from the public notaries present, a prejudicial statement of the
interview; but the deference of the admiral for the royal letter of cre-
dence, had been too marked to be disputed, and all the testimonials
were highly in his favour.*

Aguado continued to intermeddle in public affairs, and the respect
and forbearance with which he was uniformly treated by Columbus,
and the mildness of the latter in all his measures to appease the dis-
contents of the colony, were regarded as proofs of his loss of moral

* Herrera, Hist, Ind. Decad. 1, L. 2, C. 18

332 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book YUL

courage. He was looked upon as a declining man, and Aguado
hailed as the lord of the ascendant. Every dastaid spirit who had
any lurking ill will, any rea^ or imaginary caus»j of complaint, now
hastened to give it utterance; perceiving th&t in gratifymg his
malice, he was promoting his interest, and that in vilifying the
admiral he was gaining the friendship of Aguado.

The poor Indians too, harassed by the dominati<M:» of the white
men, rejoiced in the prospect of a change of rulers, vainly hoping
that it might produce a mitigation of their sufferings. Many of the
caciques who had promised allegiance to the admiral, after their de-
feat in the Vega, now assembled at the house of Manicaotex, the
brother of Caonabo, near the river Yagui, where they joined in a
formal complaint against Columbus, whom they considered the
cause of all the evils which had sprung from the disobedience and
the vices of his followers.

Aguado now considered the great object of his mission fulfilled.
He had collected information sufficient, as he thought, to ensure the
ruin of the admiral and his brothers, and prepared to return to Spain.
Columbus resolved to do the same. He felt that it was time to appear
at court, and dispel the cloud of calumny that was gathermg against
him. He had active enemies of standing and influence, who were
seeking every occasion to throw discredit upon himself and his enter-
prises. Stranger and foreigner as he was, he had no active friends
at court to oppose their machinations. He feared that they might
eventually produce an effect upon the royal mind, fatal to the pro-
gress of discovery; he was anxious to return, therefore, and explain
the real causes of the repeated disappointments with respect to
profits anticipated from his enterprises. It is not one of the least
singular traits in his history, that after having been so many years
in persuading mankind that there was a new world to be discovered,
he had almost equal trouble in proving to them the advantage
of its discovery.

When the ships were ready to depart, a terrible storm swept the
island. It was one of those awful whirlwinds which occasionally
rage within the tropics, and which were called by the Indians
furicanes, or uricans, a name which they still retain with trifling
variation. About mid-day a furious wind sprang up from the east,
driving before it dense volumes of cloud and vapour. Encountering
another tempest of wind from the west, it appeared as if a violent
conflict ensued. The clouds were rent by ince^ssant flashes or rather
Streams of lightning. At one time they were piled up high in the
sky, at another they swept to the earth, filling the air with baleful
darkness, more dismal than the obscurity of midnight. Wherever

Chap. X.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 333

the whirlwind passed, whole tracts of forest were shivered and
stripped of their leaves and branches ; those of gigantic size which
resisted the blast, were torn up bj the roots, and hurled to a
great distance. Groves were torn from the mountain precipices,
with great masses of earth and rock, tumbling into the valleys with
terrific noise, and choking the course of rivers. The fearful sounds
in the air and on the earth, the pealing thunder, the vivid lightning,
the howling of the wind, the crash of falling trees and rocks, filled
every one with affright ; and many thought that the end of the
world was at hand. Some fled to caverns for safety ; for their frail
houses were blown down, and the air was filled with the trunks and
branches of trees, and even with fragments of rocks, carried along by
the fury of the tempest. When the hurricane reached the harbour,
it whirled the ships round as they lay at anchor, snapped their
cables, and sank three of them to the bottom with all who were on
board. Others were driven about, dashed against each other, and
tossed mere wrecks upon the shore by the swelling surges of the sea,
which in some places rolled for three and four miles upon the land.
The tempest lasted for three hours. When it had passed away, and
the sun again appeared, the Indians regarded each other in mute
astonishment and dismay. Never in their memory, nor in the
traditions of their ancestors, had their island been visited by such a
tremendous storm. They believed that the deity had sent this fear-
ful ruin to punish the cruelties and crimes of the white men; and
declared that this people had moved the very air, the water, and the
earth, to disturb their tranquil life, and to desolate their island.*

CHAPTER X.

DISCOVERY OF THE MINES OF HAYNI.

[1496.]

In the recent hurricane, the four caravels of Aguado had been de-
stroyed, together with two others which were in the harbour. The
only vessel which survived was the Nina, and that in a very shat-
tered condition. Columbus gave orders to have her immediately re-

* Ramusio, T, 3, p. 7. Peter Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 4.

334 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book VIII.

paired, and another caravel constructed, out of the wrecks of those
which had been destroyed. While waiting until thej should be
ready for sea, he was cheered by tidings of rich mines in the interior
of the island, the discovery of which is attributed to an incident of e^
somewhat romantic nature.*

A young Aragonian, named Miguel Diaz, in the service of the
Adelantado, having a quarrel with another Spaniard, fought with
him, and wounded him dangerously. Fearful of the consequences,
he fled from the settlement, accompanied by five or six comrades,
who had either been engaged in the affray, or were personally at-
tached to him. Wandering about the island, they at length came
to an Indian village on the southern coast, near the mouth of the
river Ozema, where the city of San Domingo is at present situated.
They were received with kindness by the natives, and resided for
some time among them. The village was governed by a female
cacique, who soon conceived a strong attachment for the young
Aragonian. Diaz was not insensible to her tenderness, a con-
nexion was formed between them, and they lived for some time very
happily together.

The recollection of his country and his friends, began at length
to steal upon the thoughts of the young Spaniard. It was a melan-
choly lot to be exiled from civilized life, and an outcast from among
his countrymen. He longed to return to the settlement, but dreaded
the punishment that awaited him, from the austere justice of the
Adelantado. His Indian bride, observing him frequently melan-
choly and lost in thought, penetrated into the cause with the quick
intelligence of female affection. Fearful that he would abandon
her, and once more return to his countrymen, she endeavoured to
devise some means of drawing the Spaniards to that part of the isl-
and. Knowing that gold was the great attraction of white men,
she informed Diaz of certain rich mines in the neighbourhood. She
urged him to persuade his countrymen to abandon the comparatively
steril and unhealthy vicinity of Isabella, and to settle upon the fer-
tile banks of the Ozema, promising that they should be received
with the utmost kindness and hospitality by her nation.

Diaz was struck with the suggestion. He made particular in-
quiries about the mines, and was convinced that they abounded in
gold. He noticed the superior fruitfulness and beauty of the coun-
try, the excellence of the river, and the security of the harbour at its
entrance. He flattered himself that the communication of such
valuable intelligence would make his peace at Isabella, and obtain

Oviedo, Cronica de las Indias, Lib, 2, C. 13,

Chap. X.]

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

335

his pardon from the Adelantado. Full of these hopes, he procured
guides from among the natives, and taking a temporary leave of his
Indian bride, set out with his comrades through the wilderness for
the settlement, which was about fifty leagues distant. Arriving

. there secretly, he learnt, to his great joy, that the man whom he had
wounded had recovered. He now presented himself boldly before
the Adelantado, relying that his tidings would earn his forgiveness.
He was not mistaken. No news could have come more opportune-
ly. The admiral had been anxious to remove the settlement to a
more healthy and advantageous situation. He was desirous, also,
of carrying home some conclusive proof of the riches of the island,
as the most effectual means of silencing the cavils of his ej:iemies.
If the representations of Miguel Diaz were correct, here was a
means of effecting both those purposes. Measures were immediately
taken to ascertain the truth. The Adelantado set forth in person to
visit the river Ozema, accompanied by Miguel Diaz, Francisco de
Garay, and the Indian guides, and attended by a number of men
well armed. They proceeded from Isabella to Magdalena and from
thence across the Royal Vega to the fortress of Conception. Con-
tinuing on to the south, they came to a range of mountains, which
they traversed by a defile two leagues in length, and descended into
another beautiful plain, which was called Bonao. From hence,
proceeding for some distance, they came to a great river called
Hayna, running through a fertile country, all the streams of which
abounded in gold. On the western bank of this river, and about

. eight leagues from its mouth, ihey found gold in greater quantities,
and in larger particles, than had yet been met with in any part of
the island, not even excepting the province of Cibao. They made
experiments in various places within the compass of six miles, and
always with success. The soil seemed to be generally impregnated
with that metal, so that a common labourer, with little trouble,
might find the amount of three drachms in the course of a day.*
In several instances they observed deep excavations in the form of
pits, which looked as if the mines had been worked in ancient times;
a circumstance which caused much speculation among the Span-
iards, the natives having no idea of mining, but contenting themselves
with the particles found on the surface of the soil, or in the beds of
the rivers.

The Indians of the neighbourhood received the white men with
their promised friendship, and in every respect the representations of
Miguel Diaz were fully justified. He was not only pardoned, but

* Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, L. 2, C. 18. P. Martyr, D. 1, L. 4.

336 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book VIU.

received into great favour, and was subsequently employed in vari-
ous capacities in the island, in all which he acquitted himself with
great fidelity. He kept his faith with his Indian bride, by whom,
according to Oviedo, he had two children. Charlevoix supposes
that they were regularly married, as the female cacique appears to
have been baptized, being always mentioned by the Christian name
of Catalina.*

When the Adelantado returned with his favourable report, and
with the specimens of ore which he had collected, the anxious heart
of the admiral was greatly elated. He gave orders that a fortress
should be immediately erected on the banks of the Hayna, in the
vicinity of the mines, and that they should be diligently worked.
The fancied traces of ancient excavations gave rise to one of his
usual veins of golden conjectures. He had already surmised that
Hispaniola might be the ancient Ophir. He now flattered himself
that he had discovered the identical mines, from whence king Solo-
mon had procured his great supplies of gold for the building of the
temple of Jerusalem. He supposed that his ships must have sailed
by the gulf of Persia, and round Trapoban, to this island,! which,
according to his idea, lay opposite to the extreme end of Asia; for
such he firmly believed the island of Cuba.

It is probable that Columbus gave free license to his imagination
in these conjectures ; which tended to throw a splendour about his
enterprises, and to revive the languishing interest of the public.
Granting, however, the correctness of his opinion, that he was in
the vicinity of Asia, an error by no means surprising in the imper-
fect state of geographical knowledge, all his consequent suppositions
were far from extravagant. The ancient Ophir was believed to lie
somewhere in the East ; but its situation was a matter of contro-
versy among the learned, and remains one of those conjectural ques-
tions about which too much has been written for it ever to be satis-
factorily decided.

• Oviedo Cronica de las Ind. L. 2, C. 13. Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming. L. 2,
p. 146.

r P. Martyr, Decad. 1, L. 4.

LIFE AND VOYAGES

OF

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

BOOK IX

CHAPTER I.

RETURN or COLUMBUS TO SPAIN WITH AOUADO.

[1496.]

The new caravel, the Santa Cniz, being finished, and the Nina
repaired, Columbus made every arrangement for immediate depart-
ure, anxious to be freed from the growing arrogance of Aguado, and
to relieve the colony from a crew of factious and discontented men.
He appointed his brother Don Bartholomew to the command of the
island, with the title which he had already given him of Adelanta-
do ; in case of his death he was to be succeeded by his brother Don
Diego.

On the 1 0th of March the two caravels set sail for Spain ; in one
of which Columbus embarked, and in the other Aguado. In conse-
quence of the orders of the sovereigns, all those who could be spared
from the island, and some who had wives and relations in Spain,
whom they wished to visit, returned in these caravels, which were
crowded with two hundred and twenty-five passengers ; the sick,
the idle, the profligate, and factious of the colony. Never did a
more miserable and disappointed crew return from a land of promise.

There were thirty Indians also on board of the caravels, among
whom were the once redoubtable cacique Caonabo, one of his bro-
thers, and a nephew. The curate of los Palacios observes that Colum-
bus had promised the cacique and his brother to restore them to their
country and their power, after he had taken them to visit the king
and queen of Castile*. It is probable that he hoped, by a display of

* Cura de los Palacios, Cap. 131.
Vol. 1. ' 22 2D

338 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF rBooK IX.

the wonders of Spam, and the grandeur and might of its sovereigns,
and bj a course of kind treatment, to conquer their enmity to the
Spaniards, and convert them into important instruments towards ob-
taining a secure and peaceable dominion over the island. Caonabo,
however, was of that proud nature, of wild but vigorous growth,
which can never be tamed. He remained a moody and dejected
captive. He had too much intelligence not to perceive that his
power was for ever blasted ; but he retained his haughtiness even in
the midst of his despair.

Being as yet but little experienced in the navigation of those seas,
Columbus, instead of working up to the northward, so as to fall in
with the tract of westerly winds, took an easterly course on leaving
the island. The consequence was, that almost the whole of his
voyage was a toilsome and tedious struggle against the trade winds
and calms which prevail between the tropics. On the 6th of April,
he found himself still in the vicinity of the Caribbee islands, with his
crews fatigued and sickly, and his provisions rapidly diminishing.
He bore away to the southward, therefore, to touch at the most im-
portant of those islands, in search of supplies.

On Saturday, the 9th, he anchored at Marigalante, from whence,
on the following day, he made sail for Guadaloupe. It was contra-
ry to the custom of Columbus to weigh anchor on Sunday, when
in port ; but the people murmured, and observed that when in quest
of food it was no time to stand on scruples as to holy-days.*

Anchoring off the island of Guadaloupe, the boat was sent on
shore well armed, to guard against any assault of these warlike people.
Before it could reach the land a large number of resolute females issu-
ed from the woods, armed with bows and arrows, and decorated with
tufts of feathers, preparing to oppose any descent upon their shores.
As the sea was somewhat rough, and a surf broke upon the beach,
the boats remained at a distance, and two of the Indians from His-
paniola swam to shore. Having explained to these Amazons that
the Spaniards only sought provisions, in exchange for which they
would give articles of great value, the women referred them to their
husbands, who were at the northern end of the island. As the
boats proceeded thither, numbers of the natives were seen on the
beach, who manifested great ferocity, shouting and yelling, and dis-
charging flights of an'ows, which, however, fell far short in the wa-
ter. Seeing the boats approach the land, they hid themselves in the
adjacent forest, and rushed forth with hideous cries as the Spaniards
were landing. A discharge of firearms drove them terrified to the

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 62

I

Chap. I.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 339

woods and mountains, and the boats met with no further opposition.
Entering the deserted habitations, the Spaniards began to phmder
and destroy, contrary to the invariable injunctions of the admiral.
Among other articles found in these houses, were honey and wax,
which Herrera supposes had been brought from Terra Firma, as
these roving people collected the productions of distant regions in
the course of their expeditions. Fernando Columbus mentions like-
wise that there were hatchets of iron in these houses; these, how-
Rver, must have been made of a species of hard and heavy stone, al-
ready mentioned, which resembled iron ; or they must have been
procured from places which the Spaniards had previously visited ;
as it is fully admitted that no iron wsis in use among the natives
prior to the discovery. The sailors also reported that in one of the
houses they found the arm of a man roasting on a spit before a fire ;
but these facts, so repugnant to humanity, require more solid autho-
rity to be credited: the sailors had committed wanton devastation
in these dwellings, and may have sought a pret^t with which to
justify their maraudings to the admiral.

While some of the people were employed on shore, getting wood
and water, and making cassava bread, Columbus dispatched forty
men, well armed, to explore the interior of the island. They re-
turned on the following day, with ten women and three boys whom
Ihey had captured. The women were of large and powerful form,
yet of great agility. They were naked, and wore their hair long
and loose, flowing upon their shoulders : some decorated their heads
with plumes of various colours. Among them was the wife of a
cacique, a woman of great strength and a proud spirit. On the ap-
proach of the Spaniards, she had fled with an agility which soon left
all her pursuers far behind, excepting a native of the Canary islands,
remarkable for swiftness of foot. She would even have escaped
from him, but, perceiving that he was alone, and far from his com-
panions, she turned suddenly upon him, seized him with astonishing
force, and would have strangled him had not the Spaniards arrived
and taken her, entangled like a hawk with her prey. The warlike
spirit of these Carib women, and the circumstance of finding them
in armed bands, defending their shores, during the absence of their
husbands, led Columbus repeatedly into the erroneous idea that cer-
tain of these islands were inhabited entirely by women; for which
error, as has already been observed, he was prepared by the stories
of Marco Polo, concerning an island of Amazons near the coast
of Asia.

Having remained several days at the island, and provided three
weeks' supply of bread, Columbus prepared to make sail. As Gua-

§40 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IX, ■

daloupe was the most important of the Caribbee islands, and in a
manner the portal or entrance to all the rest, he wished to procure
the friendship of the inhabitants. He dismissed, therefore, all the
prisoners, with many presents to compensate for the spoil and injury
which had been done. The female cacique, however, declined to
go on shore, preferring to remain and accompany the natives of
Hispaniola who were on board ; keeping with her also a young
daughter. She had conceived a passion for Caonabo, having found
out that he was a native of the Caribbee islands. His character
and story, gathered from the other Indians, had won the sympathy
and admiration of this intrepid woman.*

Leaving Guadaloupe on the 20th of April, and keeping in about
the twenty -second degree of latitude, the caravels again worked
their way against the whole current of the trade winds, insomuch
that on the 20th of May, after a month of great fatigue and toil,
they had yet a great part of their voyage to make. The provisions
were already so reduced, that Columbus had to put every one on a
daily allowance of six ounces of bread and a pint and half of
water. As they advanced, the scarcity grew more and more severe,
and was rendered more appalling from the uncertainty which pre-
vailed on board the vessels as to their situation. There were seve-
ral pilots in the caravels; but being chiefly accustomed to the navi-
gation of the Mediterranean, or the Atlantic coasts, they were
utterly confounded, and lost all reckoning when traversing the broad
ocean. Every one had a separate opinion, and none heeded that of
the admiral. By the beginning of June, there was an absolute
famine on board of the ships. In the extremity of their sufferings,
while death stared them in the face, it was proposed by some of the
Spaniards, as a desperate alternative, that they should kill and eat
their Indian prisoners; others suggested that they should throw
them into the sea as so many expensive and useless mouths. No-
thing but the absolute authority of Columbus prevented this last
counsel from being adopted. He represented that the Indians were
their fellow beings, some of them Christians like themselves, and
all entitled to similar treatment. He exhorted them to a little pa-
tience, assuring them that they would soon make land, for that,
according to his reckoning, they were not far from Cape St. Vincent.
At this all scoffed, for they believed themselves yet far from their
desired haven ; some affirming that they were in the English chan-
nel, others that they were approaching Galicia: when Columbus,
therefore, confident in his opinion, ordered that sail should be takeu

Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 63«

Chap. L] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 341

in at night, lest they should come upon the land in the dark, there
was a general murmur; the men exclaiming that it was better to be
cast on shore than to starve at sea. The next morning, however, to
their great joj, they came in sight of the very land which Colum-
bus had predicted. From this time, he was regarded by the seamen
as almost oracular in matters of navigation, and as deeply versed in
the mysteries of the ocean.*

On the 11 th of June, the vessels anchored in the bay of Cadiz,
after a weary voyage of about three months. In the course of this
voyage, the unfortunate Caonabo expired. It is by the mere casual
mention of contemporary writers, that we have any notice of this
circumstance, which appears to have been passed over as a matter
of but little moment. He maintained his haughty nature to the
last; for his death is principally ascribed to the morbid melancholy
of a proud but broken spirit, t He was an extraordinary character
in savage life. From being a simple Carib warrior, he had risen, by
his enterprise and courage, to be the most powerful cacique, and the
'dominant spirit, of the populous island of Hayti. He was the only
chieftain that appears to have had sagacity sufficient to foresee the
fatal effects of Spanish ascendancy, or military talent to combine
any resistance to its inroads. Had his warriors been of his own
intrepid nature, the war which he raised would have been formidable
in the extreme. His fate furnishes on a narrow scale a lesson to
human greatness. When the Spaniards first arrived on the coast
of Hayti, their imaginations were inflamed with rumours of a mag-
nificent prince in the interior, the lord of the Golden House, the
sovereign of the mines of Cibao, who rejgned in splendid state
among the mountains ; but a short time had elapsed, and this fan-
cied potentate of the east, stripped of every illusion, was a naked
and dejected prisoner on the deck of one of their caravels, with none
but one of his own wild native heroines to sympathize in his
misfortunes. All his importance vanished with his freedom. Scarce
any mention is made of him during his captivity; and with innate
qualities of a high and heroic nature, he perished with the obscurity
of one of the vulgar.

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 63.

t Cura de los Palacios, Cap. 131. Peter Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib, 4.

Some have affirmed that Caonabo perished in one of the caravels "which foun-
dered in the harbour of Isabella during the hurricane ; but the united testimony
of the Curate of los Palacios, Peter Martyr, and Fernando Columbus, prove that
fle sailed with the admiral in his return voyage, o n o

342 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP (Book IX.

CHAPTER II.

DECLINE OF THE POPULARITY OF COLUMBUS IN SPAIN — HIS

RECEPTION BY THE SOVEREIGNS AT BURGOS HE PROPOSES

A THIRD YOYAOB.

Envy and malice had been but too successful in undermining the
popularity of Columbus. It is impossible to keep up a state of
public excitement for any length of time, even by miracles. The
world at first is prompt and lavish in its admiration, but soon grows
cool, distrusts its late enthusiasm, and fancies it has been defrauded
of what it bestowed with such prodigality. It is then that the
caviller, who had been silenced by the general applause, puts in his
insidious suggestions, detracts from the merit of the declining fa-
vourite, and succeeds in rendering him an object of doubt and cen-
sure, if not of absolute aversion. In three short years the public
had become familiar with the stupendous wonder of a newly disco-
vered world, and was now open to every insinuation derogatory to
the fame of the discoverer and the importance of his enterprises.

The circumstances which attended the present arrival of Colum-
bus, were little calculated to diminish the growing prejudices of
the populace. When the motley crowd of mariners and adven-
turers, who had embarked with such sanguine and extravagant
expectations, landed from the vessels in the port of Cadiz, instead
of a joyous crew bounding on shore, flushed with success, and
laden with the spoils of the golden Indias, a feeble train of wretched
men crawled forth, emaciated by the diseases of the colony and the
hardships of the voyage; who carried in their yellow countenances,
says an old writer, a mockery of that gold which had been the object
of their search, and who had nothing to relate of the New World,
but tales of sickness, poverty, and disappointment.

Columbus endeavoured, as much as possible, to counteract these
unfavourable appearances, and to revive the languishing enthusiasm
of the public. He dwelt upon the importance of his recent disco-
veries along the coast of Cuba, where, as he supposed, he had arrived
nearly to the Aurea Chersonesus of the Ancients, bordering on some
of the richest provinces of Asia. Above all, he boasted of his dis-
covery of the abundant mines on the south side of Hispaniola,
which he persuaded himself were those of the ancient Ophir. The

Chap. H.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. "8^

public listened to these accounts with sneering incredulity, or if for
a moment a little excitement was occasioned, it was quickly des-
troyed by the gloomy pictures drawn by disappointed adventurers.

In the harbour of Cadiz, Columbus found three caravels, com-
manded by Pedro Alonzo Nirio, on the point of sailing with supplies
for the colony. Nearly a year had elapsed without any relief of
the kind; four caravels which had sailed in the preceding January
having been lost on the coast of the peninsula.* Having read the
royal letters and dispatches of which Nino was the bearer, and
being informed of the wishes of the sovereigns, as well as the state
of the public mind, Columbus wrote by this opportunity, urging the
Adelantado to endeavour, by every means, to bring the island into a
peaceful and productive state, appeasing all discontents and commo-
tions, and seizing and sending to Spain all caciques or their subjects,
who should be concerned in the deaths of any of the colonists. He
recommended the most unremitting diligence in exploring and
working the mines recently discovered on the river Hayna, and that
a place should be chosen in the neighbourhood, and a seaport
founded. Pedro Alonzo Nino set sail with the three caravels on
the 17th June.

Tidings of the arrival of Columbus having reached the sovereigns,
he received a gracious letter from them, dated at Almazen, 12th
July, 1496, congratulating him on his safe return, and inviting him
to court, when he should have recovered from the fatigues of his voy-
age. The kind terms in which the letter was couched, were calcu
lated to reassure the heart of Columbus, who, ever since the mission
of the arrogant Aguado, had considered himself out of favour with
the sovereigns, and fallen into disgrace. As a proof of the dejec-
tion of his spirits, we are told that when he made his appearance
this time in Spain, he was clad in an humble garb, resembling in
form and colour the habit of a Franciscan monk, simply girded
with a cord, and that he had suffered his beard to grow like the
brethren of that order, f This was probably in fulfilment of some
penitential vow which he had made in a moment of danger or de-
spondency ; a custom prevalent in those days, and frequently
observed by Columbus. It betokened, however, much humility and
depression of spirit, and afforded a striking contrast to his appear-
ance on his former triumphant return. He was doomed, in fact,
to yield repeated examples of the reverses to which those are subject,
who have once launched from the safe shores of obscurity on the
fluctuating waves of popular opinion.

* Munoz, Hist. N. Mundo, L. 6.

t Cura de los Palacios, Cap. 131. Oviedo, Lib. 2, Cap. 13.

844 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book IX.

However indifferent Columbus might be to his own personal ap-
pearance, he was anxious to keep alive the interest in his discoveries,
fearing continually that the indifference that was awakening to-
wards them might impede their accomplishment. On his way to
Burgos, therefore, where the sovereigns were expected, he made a stu-
dious display of the curiosities and treasures which he had brought
from the new world. Among these were collars, bracelets, anklets,
and coronets of gold, the spoils of various caciques, and which were
considered as trophies won from barbaric princes of the rich coasts
of Asia, or the islands of the Indian seas. It is a proof of the petty
standard by which the sublime discovery of Columbus was already
estimated, that he had to resort to this management, to dazzle the
gross perceptions of the multitude by the mere glare of gold.

He carried with him several Indians also, decorated after their
savage fashion, and glittering with golden ornaments; among
whom were the brother and nephew of Caonabo; the former about
thirty years of age, the latter only ten. They were brought merely
to visit the king and queen, that they might be impressed with an idea
of the grandeur and power of the Spanish sovereigns, after which
they were to be restored in safety to their country. Whenever they
passed through any principal place, Columbus put a massive collar
and chain of gold upon the brother of Caonabo, as being cacique of
the golden country of Cibao. The curate of los Palacios, who en-
tertained the discoverer and his Indian captives for several days in
his house, says that he had this chain of gold in his hands, and that
it weighed six hundred castellanos.* The worthy curate likewise
makes mention of various Indian masks, and images of wood or
cotton, wrought with fantastic faces of animals, all of which he sup-
poses were representations of the devil, who he concludes must be
the object of adoration of these islanders, f

The reception of Columbus by the sovereigns was different from
what he had anticipated ; for he was treated with distinguished fa-
vour, nor was any mention made, either of the complaints of Mar-
garite and Boyle, or the judicial inquiries conducted by Aguado.
However these may have had a transient effect on the minds of the
sovereigns, they were too conscious of the great deserts of Colum-
bus, and the extraordinary difficulties of his situation, not to tolerate
what they may have considered errors on his part.

Encouraged by the favourable countenance he experienced, and
the interest with which the sovereigns listened to his account of

* Equivalent *o 3,195 dollars of the present time,
t Cura de los Palacios, Cap. 131.

Chap. IL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 345

his recent voyage along the coast of Cuba, and the discovery of the
mines of Hayna, which he failed not to represent as the Ophir of
the ancients ; Columbus now proposed a further enterprise, by which
he promised to make yet more extensive discoveries, and to annex
Terra Firma to their dominions. For this purpose he asked eight
ships ; two to be dispatched to the island of Hispaniola with sup-
plies, the remaining six to be put under his command for a voyage
of discovery. The sovereigns readily promised to comply with his
request, and were probably sincere in their intention to do so ; but
in the performance of their promise, Columbus was doomed to meet
with intolerable delay ; partly in consequence of the operation of
public events, partly in consequence of the intrigues of men in office,
the two great influences which are continually diverting and de-
feating the designs of princes.

The resources of Spain were at this moment tasked to the utmost
by the ambition of Ferdinand ; who lavished all his revenues in
warlike expenses and in subsidies. While maintaining a contest
of deep and artful policy with France, with the ultimate aim of
grasping the sceptre of Naples, he was laying the foundation of a
wide and powerful connexion, by the marriages of the royal chil-
dren, who were now maturing in years. At this time was cemented
that family alliance which afterwards consolidated such an immense
empire under his grandson and successor Charles V.

While a large army was maintained in Italy, under Gonsalvo of
Cordova, to assist the king of Napies in recovering his throne, of
which he had been suddenly dispossessed by Charles VIII. of France;
other armies were required on the frontiers of Spain, which were
menaced with a French invasion. Squadrons also had to be em-
ployed for the safeguard of the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts
of the Peninsula, while a magnificent armada of upwards of a hun-
dred ships, having on board twenty thousand persons, many of them
of the first nobility, was dispatched to convoy the princess Juana
to Flanders, to be married to Philip, archduke of Austria, and to
bring back his sister Margarita, the destined bride of Prince Juan.

These widely extended operations, both of war and amity, put
all the land and naval forces into requisition. They drained the
royal treasury, and engrossed the thoughts of the sovereigns, oblig-
ing them also to journey from point to point of their dominions.
With such cares of an immediate and homefelt nature pressing
upon their minds, the distant enterprises of Columbus were easily
neglected or postponed. They had hitherto been sources of expense
instead of profit : and there were artful counsellors ever ready to
whisper in the royal ear, that they were likely to continue so.

S46 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book IX.

What, in the ambitious eyes of Ferdinand, was the acquisition of
ia number of wild uncultivated and distant islands, to that of the bril-
liant domain of Naples ; or the intercourse with naked and barbaric
princes, to that of an alliance with the most potent sovereigns of
Christendom? Columbus had the mortification, therefore, to see
armies levied, and squadrons employed, in the idle contests about a
little point of territory in Europe ; and a vast armada of upwards of
a hundred sail destined to the ostentatious service of convoying a
royal bride ; while he vainly solicited a few caravels to prosecute
his discovery of a world.

At length, in the autumn, six millions of maravedis were ordered
to be advanced to Columbus for the equipment of his promised squad-
ron.* Just as the sum was about to be delivered, a letter was re-
ceived from Pedro Alonzo Nino, who had arrived at Cadiz with his
three caravels, on his return from the island of Hispaniola. Instead
of proceeding to court in person, or forwarding the dispatches of
the Adelai^tado, he had gone to visit his family at Huelva, and
taken the dispatches with him, merely writing in a vaunting style,
that he had a great amount of gold on board of his ships. f This
was triumphant intelligence to Columbus, who immediately con-
cluded that the new mines were in operation, and the treasures of
Ophir about to be realized. The letter of Nino, however, was
doomed to have a most injurious effect on his concerns. The king
at that moment was in immediate want of money to repair the for-
tress Salza, in Roussillon, w^ch had been sacked by the French ;
the six millions of maravedis, about to be advanced to Columbus,
were forthwith appropriated to patch up the shattered castle, and an
order was given for the amount to be paid out of the gold brought
by Nino. It was not until the end of December, when Nino arrived
at court and delivered the dispatches of the Adelantado, that his
boast of gold was discovered to be a mere figure of speech, and that
his caravels were, in fact, freighted with Indian prisoners, from the
sale of whom the vaunted gold was to arise.

It is difficult to describe the vexatious effects of this absurd hjrper-
bole. The hopes of Columbus of great and immediate profit from
the mines was suddenly cast down ; the zeal of his few advocates
was cooled ; an air of empty exaggeration was given to his enter-
prises; and his enemies pointed with scorn and ridicule to the
wretched cargoes of the caravel, as the boasted treasures of the
New World. The reports brought by Nino and his crew, repre-

* Equivalent to a value of 86,956 dollars of the present day.
t Las Casas, Hist, Ind. Lib, 1, C. 123 MS,

Chap. III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 347

sented the colony as in a disastrous condition, and the dispatches
of the Adelantado pointed out the importance of immediate supplies ;
but m proportion as the necessity of the case was urgent, the mea-
sure of relief was tardy. All the unfavourable representations that
had hitherto been made seemed corroborated, and the invidious cry
of " great cost and little gain," was revived by those politicians of
petty sagacity and microscopic eye, who, in all great undertakings,
can clearly discern the immediate expense, without having scope
of vision to embrace the future profit.

CHAPTER III.

PREPARATIONS FOR A THIRD VOYAGE DISAPPOINTMENTS AND

DELAYS.

[1497.]

It was not until the following spring of 1497, that the concerns of
Columbus, and of the New World, began to receive serious attention
from the sovereigns. The fleet had returned from Flanders with the
princess Margarite of Austria. Her nuptials with Prince Juan, the
heir apparent, had been celebrated at Burgos, the capital of Old
Castile, with extraordinary splendour. All the grandees, the digni-
taries, and chivalry of Spain, together with ambassadors from the
principal potentates of Christendom, were assembled on the occasion.
Burgos was for some time a scene of chivalrous pageant and courtly
revel ; and the whole kingdom celebrated with great rejoicing this
powerful alliance,^ which seemed to ensure to the Spanish sovereigns
a continuance of their extraordinarj'- prosperity.

In the midst of these festivities, Isabella, whose maternal heart
had recently been engrossed by the marriages of her children, now
that she was relieved from these concerns of a tender and domestic
nature, entered into the affairs of the New World, with a spirit that
showed she was determined to place them upon a substantial foun-
dation, as well as clearly to define the powers, and reward the ser-
vices of Columbus. To her protecting zeal all the provisions in fa-
vour of Columbus must be attributed ; for the king began to look

348 rJFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book IX.

coldly on him, and the royal counsellors who had most influence m
the aflfairs of the Indias, were his enemies.

Various royal ordinances, dated about this time, manifest the ge-
nerous and considerate disposition of the queen. The rights, privi-
leges, and dignities granted to Columbus at Santa F^ were again
confirmed; a tract of land in Hispaniola, fifty leagues in length and
twenty-five in breadth, was offered to him, with the title of duke or
marquis. This, however, Columbus had the forbearance to decline :
he observed that it would only increase the envy which was already
so virulent against him, and would cause new misrepresentations ;
as he should be accused of paying more attention to the settlement
and improvement of his own possessions than of any other part of
the island.*

As the expenses of the expeditions had hitherto far exceeded the re-
turns, Columbus had incurred debt rather than reaped profit from the
share he had been permitted to take in them ; he was relieved there-
fore from his obligation to bear an eighth part of the cost of the past
enterprises, excepting the sum which he had advanced towards the
first voyage ; at the same time, however, he was not to claim any
share of what had hitherto been brought from the island. For three
ensuing years, he was to be allowed an eighth of the gross proceeds
of every voyage, and an additional tenth after the costs had been
deducted. After the expiration of the three years, the original terms
of agreement were to be resumed.

To gratify the honourable ambition of Columbus also, and to per-
petuate in his family the distinction gained by his illustrious deeds,
he was allowed the right of establishing a mayorazgo, or perpetual
entail of his estates, so that they might always descend with his
titles of nobility. This he shortly after exercised in a solemn testa-
ment which he executed in Seville, in the early part of 1 498. By this
testament he devised his estates to his own male descendants, and on
their failure, to the male descendants of his brothers ; and in default
of male heirs, to the females of his lineage.

The heir was always to bear the arms of the admiral, to seal with
them, to sign with his signature, and in signing, never to use any other
title than simply " The Admiral," whatever other titles might be
given him by the king, and used by him on other occasions. Such
was the noble pride with which he valued this title of his real great-
ness.

In this testament he made ample provision for his brother the
Adelantado, his son Fernando, and his brother Don Diego, which

♦ Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, Cap. 123.

Chap. III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 349

last he intimates, had a desire to enter into ecclesiastical life. He
ordered that a tenth part of the revenues arising from the mayorazgo
should be devoted to pious and charitable purposes, and in relieving
all poor persons of his lineage. He made provisions for the giving of
marriage portions to the poor females of his family. He ordered that
a married person of his line, who had been born in his native city
of Genoa, should be maintained there in competence and respecta
bility, by way of keeping a domicile for the family there ; and he
commanded whoever should inherit the mayorazgo, always to do
every thing in his power for the honour, prosperity, and increase of
the city of Genoa, provided it should not be contrary to the service
of the church, and the interests of the Spanish crown.

Among various other provisions in this will, he solemnly provides
for his favourite scheme, the recovery of the holy sepulchre. He
orders his son Diego, or whoever else may inherit his estate, to invest
from time to time, as much money as he can spare in stock, in the
bank of St. George at Genoa, to form a permanent fund, with which
he is to stand ready at any time to follow and serve the king in the
conquest of Jerusalem. Or should the king not undertake such en-
terprise, then, when the funds have accumulated to sufficient amount,
to set on foot a crusade at his own charge and risk, in hopes that,
seeing his determination, the sovereigns may be induced either to
adopt the undertaking, or to authorize him to pursue it in their
name.

Besides this special undertaking for the Catholic faith, he charges
his heir tliat in case there should arise any schism in the church, or
any violence that should menace its prosperity, to throw himself at
the feet of the pope, and devote his person and property to defend the
church from all insult and spoliation. Next to the service of God,
he enjoins loyalty to the throne, commanding him at all times to
stand ready to serve the sovereigns and their heirs, faithfully and
zealously, even to the loss of life and estate. To ensure the constant
remembrance of this testament, he orders his heir that before he con-
fesses, he shall give it to his father confessor to read it, and to ex-
amine him upon his faithful fulfilment of its conditions.*

As Columbus had felt aggrieved by the general license granted
in April 1495, to make discoveries in the New World, considering it
as interfering with his prerogatives, a royal edict was issued on the
2d of June, 1497, retracting whatever might be prejudicial to his
interests, or to the previous grants made him by the crown. "It
never was our intention," said the sovereigns in their edict, " in any
way to affect the said Don Christobal Colon, nor to allow the con-

* This testament is inserted at large in the appendix to this work.

2E

350 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IX

Ventions, privileges, and favours which we have granted him, to be
encroached upon or violated ; but on the contrary, in consequence of
the services which he has rendered us, we intend to confer still fur-
ther favours on him." Such, there is every reason to believe, was
the sincere intention of the magnanimous Isabella ; but the stream
of her royal bounty was doomed to be poisoned, or diverted by the
base channels through which it flowed.

The favour shown to Columbus, was extended likewise to his
family. The title and prerogatives of Adelantado, with which he
had invested his brother Bartholomew, had at first awakened the
displeasure of the king, who jealously reserved all high dignities of
the kind, to be granted exclusively by the crown. By a royal letter,
the office was now conferred upon Don Bartholomew, as if through
spontaneous favour of the sovereigns ; no allusion being made to his
having previously enjoyed it.

While all these measures were taken for the immediate gratifica-
tion of Columbus, others were adopted for the interests of the colony.
Permission was granted him to take out three hundred and thirty
persons in royal pay, of whom forty were to be escuderos or ser-
vants, one hundred foot-soldiers, thirty sailors, thirty ship-boys,
twenty miners, fifty husbandmen, ten gardeners, twenty mechanics
of various kinds, and thirty females. He was subsequently permitted
to increase the number, if he thought proper, to five hundred ; but the
additional individuals were to be paid out of the produce and mer-
chandise of the colony. He was likewise authorized to grant lands
to all such as were disposed to cultivate vineyards, orchards, sugar
plantations, or to form any other rural establishments, on condition
that they should reside as householders on the island, for four j'-ears
after such grant ; and that all the brazil wood and precious metals
which might be found on their lands should be reserved to the
crown.

Nor were the interests of the unhappy natives forgotten by the
compassionate heart of Isabella. In spite of the sophisms by which
their subjection and servitude were made matters of civil and divine
right, and sanctioned by the political prelates of the day, Isabella al-
ways consented with the greatest reluctance to the slavery even of
those who were taken in open warfare ; while her utmost solicitude
was exerted to protect the unoffending part of this helpless and de-
voted race. She ordered that the greatest care should be taken of
their religious instruction, and the greatest leniency shown in col-
lecting the tributes imposed upon them, with all possible indulgence
to defalcators. In fact, the injunctions given with respect to the
treatment both of Indians and Spaniards, are the only indications ii*

Chap. III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 35

the royal edicts, of any impression having been made by the com*
plaints against Columbus of severity in his government. It was
generally recommended by the sovereigns that, whenever the public
safety did not require stern measures, there should be manifested a
disposition to lenity and easy rule.

When every disposition was thus shown on the part of the crown
to dispatch the expedition to the colony, unexpected difficulties arose
on the part of the public. The charm was dispelled which, irl the
preceding voyage, had made every adventurer crowd into the service
of Columbus. An odium had been industriously thrown upon his
enterprises ; and his new-found world, instead of a region of wealth
and delight, was considered a land of poverty and disaster. There
was a difficulty in procuring either ships or men for the voyage. To
remedy the first of these deficiences, one of those arbitrary orders
was issued, so opposite to our present ideas of commercial policy,
empowering the officers of the crown to press into the service what-
ever ships they might judge suitable for the proposed expedition, to-
gether with their masters and pilots ; and to fix such price for their
remuneration, as the officers should deem just and reasonable. To
supply the want of voluntary recruits, a measure was adopted, at the
suggestion of Columbus,* which shows the desperate alternatives to
which he was reduced by the great reaction of public sentiment.
This was to commute the sentences of criminals condemned to ban-
ishment, to the galleys, or to the mines, into transportation to the new
settlements, where they were to labour in the pubhc service with-
out pay. Those whose sentence was banishment for fife, to be
transported for ten years, those banished for a specific term, to be
transported for half that term. A general pardon was published for
all malefactors at large, who within a certain time should surrender
themselves to the admiral, and embark for the colonies ; those who
had committed offences meriting death, to serve for two years, those
whose misdeeds were of a lighter nature, to serve for one year.f
Those only were excepted from this indulgence, who had committed
heresy, lese majesty, treason, coining, murder, and certain other spe-
cific crimes. This pernicious measure, calculated to poison the popu-
lation of an infant community at its very source, was a fruitful cause
of trouble to Columbus, and of misery and detriment to the colony.
It has been frequently adopted by various nations, whose superior
experience should have taught them better, and has proved the bane
of many a rising settlement. It is assuredly as unnatural for a me-
tropolis to cast forth its crimes and vices upon its colonies as it would

* Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, Cap. 112. MS.
t Muiioz, L. 6, $ 19.

352 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF IBook IX.

be for a parent wilfully to ingraft disease upon his children. In
both instances the obligation of nature is vitiated ; nor should it bo
matter of surprise, if the seeds of evil which are thus sown, should
bring forth bitter retribution.

Notwithstanding all these violent expedients, there was still a
ruinous delay in fitting out the proposed expedition. , This is partly
accounted for by changes which took place in the persons appointed
to superintend the affairs of the Indias. These concerns had for a
time been consigned to Antonio de ^Torres, in whose name conjointly
with that of Columbus, many of the official documents had been
made out. In consequence of high and unreasonable demands on
the part of Torres, he was removed from office, and Juan Rodriguez
de Fonseca, bishop of Badajoz, reinstated. The papers had there-
fore to be made out anew, and fresh contracts formed. While these
concerns were tardily attended to, the queen was suddenly over-
whelmed with affliction by the death of her only son, Prince Juan,
whose nuptials had been celebrated with such splendour in the spring.
It was the first of a series of domestic calamities which assailed her
affectionate heart, and rendered it desolate for the remainder of her
days. In the midst of her distress, however, she still thought on Co-
lumbus. In consequence of his urgent representations of the misery
to which the colony must be reduced, two ships were dispatched, in
the beginning of 1498, under the command of Pedro Fernandez
Coronel, freighted with supplies. The necessary funds were ad-
vanced by the queen herself, out of the funds intended to form the
endowment of her daughter Isabella, then betrothed to Emanuel,
king of Portugal. An instance of her kind feeling towards Colum-
bus was also evinced in the time of her affliction : his two sons, Diego
and Fernando, had been pages to the deceased prince; the queen now
look them, in the same capacity, into her own service.

With all this zealous disposition on the part of the queen, Colum-
bus still met with the most injurious and discouraging delays, in pre-
paring the six remaining vessels for his voyage. His cold-blooded
enemy, Fonseca, having the superintendence of Indian affairs, was
enabled to impede and retard all his plans. The various petty offi-
cers and agents employed in the concerns of the armament, were
many of them dependents and millions of the bishop, and knew
that they were gratifying him in annoying Columbus. They looked
upon the latter, also, as a man declining in popularity, who might
be offended with impunity ; they scrupled not, therefore, to throw
all kinds of difficulties in his path, and to treat him occasionally
with that anogance, which petty and ignoble men in place are prone
to exercise.

Chap. IH.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 353

It seems almost incredible at the present day, that such important
and glorious enterprises should have been subject to such despicable
molestations. Columbus bore them all with silent indignation.
He was a stranger in the land he was benefiting ; he felt that the
popular tide had turned against him, and that it was necessary to
tolerate many present grievances, for the sake of effecting his great
purposes. So wearied and disheartened, however, did he become by
the impediments artfully thrown in his way, and so disgusted by
the prejudices of the fickle public, that he at one time thought of
abandoning his discoveries altogether. He was chiefly induced to
persevere by his grateful attachment to the queen, and his desire to
achieve something that might cheer and animate her under her
afilictions.*

At length, after all kinds of irritating delays, the six vessels were
fitted for sea, though it was impossible to conquer the popular repug-
nance to the service sufficiently to enlist the allotted number of men.
In addition to the persons in employ already enumerated, a physi-
cian, surgeon and apothecary were likewise sent out for the rehef of
the colony; and several priests to replace father Boyle, and certain
of his discontented brethren ; while a number of musicians were
embarked by the admiral, for the purpose of cheering and enliven-
ing the spirits of the colonists.

The insolence which Columbus had suffered from the minions of
Fonseca, throughout this long protracted term of preparation, ha-
rassed him to the last moment of his sojourn in Spain, and followed
him to the very water's edge. Among the worthless hirelings who
had annoyed him, the most noisy and presuming was one Ximeno
de Breviesca, treasurer or accountant of Fonseca. He was not an
old Christian, observers the venerable Las Casas, by which it is to
be understood that he was either a Jew, or a Moor, converted to the
Catholic faith. He had an impudent front and an unbridled tongue ;
and, echoing the sentiments of his patron the bishop, had been loud
in his abuse of the admiral and his enterprises. The very day when
the squadron was on the point of weighing anchor, Columbus was
assailed by the insolence of this Ximeno, either on the shore when
about to embark, or on board of his ship, where he had just entered.
In the hurry of the moment he had not his usual self-command ; his
indignation, hitherto repressed, suddenly burst forth : he struck the
despicable minion to the ground, and spurned him repeatedly with

* Yo mucho quisiera despedir del negocio si fuera honesta para con mi Reyna ;
el esfuerzo de nuestro senor y de su Alteza fizo que continuase y por aliviarle algo
de los enojos en quea causa de la muerte estaba. Letter of Columb, to the nurse
of Prince Juan.

Vol. L 23 8 E 8

354 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book IX

his foot, venting in this unguarded paroxysm, the accumulated griefs
and vexations which had long rankled in his mind.*

Nothing could demonstrate more strongly what Columbus had
previously suffered from the machinations of unworthy men, than
this transport of passion, so unusual in his well governed temper.
He deeply regretted it, and in a letter written some time afterwards ta
the sovereigns, he endeavoured to obviate the injuries it might da
him in their opinion, through the exaggeration and false colouring
of his enemies. His apprehensions were not ill founded, for Las
Casas attributes the humiliating measures shortly after adopted by
the sovereigns towards Columbus, to the unfavourable impression
produced by this aifair. It had happened near at home, and, as it
were, under the very eye of the sovereigns- it spoke^ therefore^,
more quickly to their feelings than more important allegations from
a distance. The personal castigation of a public officer, was repre-
sented as a flagrant instance of the vindictive temper of Columbus,
and the corroboration of the charges of cruelty and oppression sent
from the colony. As Ximeno was a creature of the invidious Fon-
seca, the aifair was sure to be represented to the sovereigns in the
most odious point of view. Thus the generous intentions of prin-
ces, and the exalted services of their subjects, are apt to be defeated
by the intervention of cold and crafty men in place. By his impla-
cable hostility to Columbus, and the secret obstructions which he
threw in the way of the most illustrious of human enterprises, Fon-
seca has ensured perpetuity to his name, coupled with the contempt
of every generous mind.

* Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, Cap. 126. MS.

LIFE AND VOYAGES

OF

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS

BOOK X.

CHAPTER I.

DEPARTURE OF COLUMBUS FROM SPAIN ON HIS THIRD YOYAO*-"
DISCOVERY OF TRINIDAD.

[1498.]

On the 30th of May, 1498, Columbus set sail from the port of St.
Lucar de Barrameda, with his squadron of six vessels^ on his third
voyage of discovery. The route he proposed to take was different
from that pursued in his former voyages. He intended to depart
from the Cape de Verd islands, sailing to the southwest until He
should come under the equinoctial line, then to steer directly west-
ward with the favour of the trade winds, until he should arrive at
land, or find himself in the longitude of Hispaniola. Various con-
siderations had induced him to adopt this course. In his preceding
voyage, when he coasted the southern side of Cuba, under the be-
lief that it was the continent of Asia, he had observed that it swept
off toward the south. From this circumstance, and from informa-
tion gathered among the natives of the Caribbee islands, he was in-
duced to believe that a great tract of the main land lay to the south
of the countries he had already discovered. King John H. of Por-
tugal appears to have entertained a similar idea; as Herrera records
an opinion expressed by that monarch, that there was a continent in
the southern ocean.* If this were the case, it was supposed by Co-
lumbus, that, in proportion as he approached the equator, and ex-
tended his discoveries to climates more and more under the torrid
influence of the sun, he should find the productions of nature sub-
limated by its rays to more perfect and precious qualities. He was

* Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, Ub. 3, C. 9.

356 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book X.

strengthened in this belief by a letter written to him at the com-
mand of the queen, by one Jayme Ferrer, an eminent and learned
lapidary, who in the course of his trading for precious stones and
metals had been in the Levant, and in various parts of the east, had
conversed with the merchants of the remote parts of Asia and
Africa, and the natives of India, Arabia and Ethiopia, and was con-
sidered deeply versed in geography generally, but especially in the
natural history of those countries from whence the valuable mer-
chandise in which he dealt was procured.

In this letter Ferrer assured Columbus that, according to his ex-
perience, the rarest objects of commerce, such as gold, precious
stones, drugs and spices, were chiefly to be found in the regions
about the equinoctial line, where the inhabitants were black, or
darkly coloured; and that, until the admiral should arrive among
people of such complexions, he did not think he would find those
articles in great abundance.*

Columbus expected to find such people more to the south. He
recollected that the natives of Hispaniola had spoken of black men,
who had once come to their island from the south and southeast, the
heads of whose javelins were of a sort of metal which they called
Guanin. They had given the admiral specimens of this metal,
which, on being assayed in Spain, proved to be a mixture of eigh-
teen parts of gold, six silver, and eight copper; a proof of valuable
mines in the country from whence they came. Charlevoix conjec-
tures that these black people may have come from the Canaries, or
the western coast of Africa, and been driven by tempest to the shores
of Hispaniola. t It is probable, however, that Columbus had been
misinformed as to their colour, or had misunderstood his informants.
It is difficult to believe that the natives of Africa or the Canaries,
could have survived a voyage of such magnitude, in the frail and
scantily provided barks they were accustomed to use.

It was to ascertain the truth of all these suppositions, and if cor-
rect, to arrive at the favoured and opulent countries about tbe equa-
tor, inhabited by people of similar complexions with those of the
Africans under the line, that Columbus in his present voyage to the
New World, took a course much further to the south of that which
he had hitherto pursued.

Having heard that a French squadron was cruising oif cape St.
Vincent, he stood to the southwest after leaving St. Lucar, touching
at the islands of Porto Santo and Madeira, where he remained a few
days taking in wood and water, and other supplies, and then con-

* Nararrete, CoUec. T. 2, Document 68.
t Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming. L. 3, p. 162.

Chap. I.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. ' 357

tinued his course to the Canary islands. On the 19th of June, he
arrived at Gomera, where there lay at anchor a French cruiser with
two Spanish prizes. On seeing the squadron of Columbus standing
into the harbour, the captain of the privateer put to sea in all haste,
followed by his prizes ; one of which, in the hurry of the moment, left
part of her crew on shore, making sail with only four of her arma-
ment, and six Spanish prisoners. The admiral at first mistook them
for merchant ships, alarmed by his warlike appearance ; when in-
formed of the truth, however, he sent three of his ships in pursuit,
but they had gained too much distance to be overtaken. The six
Spaniards, however, on board of one of the prizes, seeing assistance
at hand, rose on their captors; and the admiral's vessels coming up,
the prize was retaken, and brought back in triumph to the port
The admiral relinquished the ship to the captain, and gave up the
prisoners to the governor of the island, to be exchanged for six
Spaniards carried oflf by the cruiser.*

Leaving Gomera on the 21st of June, Columbus divided his squad-
ron off the island of Ferro ; three of the ships he dispatched direct for
Hispaniola, to carry supplies to the colony. One of these ships was
commanded by Alonzo Sanchez de Carvajal, native of Baeza, a man
of much worth and integrity; the second by Pedro de Arana of Cor-
dova, brother of Dona Beatrix Henriquez, the mother of the admiral's
second son, Fernando. He was cousin, also, of the unfortunate
ofl5cer who commanded the fortress of La Navidad at the time of
the massacre. The third was commanded by Juan Antonio Co-
lumbus, (or Colombo,) a Genoese, related to the admiral, and a man
of much judgment and capacity. These captains were alternately
to have the command, and bear the signal light, a week at a time.
The admiral carefully pointed out their course. When they came
in sight of Hispaniola, they were to steer for the south side, for the
new port and town, which he supposed to be by this time established
in the mouth of the Ozema, according to royal orders sent out by
Coronel. With the three remaining vessels, the admiral prosecuted
his voyage towards the Cape de Verd islands. The ship in which
he sailed was decked, the other two were merchant caravels. f As
he advanced within the tropics, the change of climate, and the close
and sultry weather which prevailed, brought on a severe attack of
the gout, followed by a violent fever. Notwithstanding his painful
illness, however, he enjoyed the full possession of his faculties, and
continued to keep his reckoning, and make his observations, with
his usual vigilance and minuteness.

* Hist, del Almirante, C. 65. t P. Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 6,

L

358 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book X.

On the 27th of June, he arrived among the Cape de Verd islands,
which, instead of the freshness and verdure which their name
would betoken, presented an aspect of the most cheerless sterility.
He remained among these islands but a very few days, being dis-
appointed in his expectation of obtaining goats', flesh for ships' pro-
visions, and cattle for stock for the island of Hispaniola. To pro-
cure them would require some delay ; in the meantime the health of
himself and of his people suffered under the influence of the weather.
The atmosphere was loaded with clouds and vapours ; neither sun
nor star was to be seen ; a sultry depressing temperature prevailed ;
and the livid looks of the inhabitants bore witness to the insalubrity
of the climate.*

Leaving the island of Buena Vista on the 5th of July, Columbus
stood to the southwest, intending to continue on until he found him-
self under the equinoctial line. The currents, however, which run
to the north and northwest among those islands, impeded his pro-
gress, and kept him for two days in sight of the island del Fuego.
The volcanic summit of this island, which seen at a distance re-
sembled a church with a lofty steeple, and which was said at times
to emit smoke and flames, was the last point discerned of the Old
World.

Continuing to the southwest, about one hundred and twenty
leagues, he found himself on the 13th of July, according to his ob-
servations, in the fifth degree of north latitude. He had entered
that region which extends for eight or ten degrees on each side of
the line, and is known among seamen by the name of the calm lati-
tudes. The trade winds from the southeast and northeast, meeting
in the neighbourhood of the equator, destroy each other, and a pro-
found calmness of the elements is produced. The whole sea is like
a mirror, and vessels remain almost motionless, with flapping sails,
the crews panting under the heat of a vertical sun, unmitigated by
any refreshing breeze. Weeks are sometimes expended in crossing
this torpid tract of the ocean.

The weather for some time past had been cloudy and oppressive ;
but, on the 13th, there was a bright and burning sun. The wind
suddenly fell and a dead sultry calm commenced, which lasted for
eight days. The air was like a furnace ; the tar melted; the seams
of the ships yawned ; the salt meat became putrid ; the wheat was
parched as if with fire ; the hoops shrunk from the wine and water
casks, some of which leaked and others burst ; while the heat in
the holds of the vessels was so suflfocating, that no one could remain

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 65.

C&AP. I.J CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 359

below a sufficient time to prevent the damage that was taking place.
The mariners lost all strength and spirits, and sunk under the op-
pressive heat. It seemed as if the old fable of the torrid zone was
about to be realized ; and that they were approaching a fiery region,
where it would be impossible to exist. It is true the heavens were
for a great part of the time overcast, and there were drizzling show-
ers ; but the atmosphere was close and stifling, and there was that
combination of heat and moisture which relaxes all the energies of
the human frame.

During this time the admiral suffered extremely from the gout,
but, as usual, the activity of his mind, heightened by his anxiety,
allowed him no indulgence or repose. He was in an unknown part
of the ocean, where every thing depended upon his vigilance and
sagacity ; and was continually watching the phenomena of the ele-
ments, and looking out for signs of land. Finding the heat so in-
tolerable, he altered his course, and steered to the westward, hoping
to find a milder temperature further on, even under the same paral-
lel. He had observed in his previous voyages that after sailing
westward a hundred leagues from the Azores, a wonderful change
took place in the sea and sky, both becoming serene and bland, and
the air temperate and refreshing. He imagined that a peculiar
mildness and suavity prevailed over a great tract of ocean, extend-
ing from north to south, into which the navigator, sailing from east
to west, would suddenly enter, as if crossing a line. The event
seemed to justify his theory ; for, after making their way slowly for
some time to the westward, through an ordeal of heats and calms,
with a murky stifling atmosphere, the ships all at once emerged into
a genial region ; a pleasant cooling breeze played over the sea and
gently filled their sails, the close and drizzling clouds broke away,
the sky became serene and clear, and the sun shone forth with all
its splendour, but no longer with a burning heat.

Columbus had intended, on reaching this temperate tract, to have
stood once more to the south and then westward ; but he found his
ships so damaged by the late parching weather, which had opened
their seams and caused them to leak excessively, that it was neces-
sarj'' to seek some convenient harbour as soon as possible, where they
might be refitted. Much of the provisions also was spoiled, and the
water was nearly exhausted. He kept on therefore directly to the
west, trusting, from the flights of birds, and other favourable indica-
tions, that he should soon arrive at land. Day after day passed
away without his expectations being realized. The necessities of
his ships became continually more urgent; wherefore, supposing
himself in the longitude of the Caribbee islands, he bore away to-

360 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Booe X.

wards the northward in search of them, intending to touch among
them for refreshments and repairs, and then to proceed to His-
paniola,*

On the 31st of July there was not above one cask of water re-
maining in each ship, and the admiral experienced great anxiety.
About mid-day a mariner named Alonzo Perez being accidentally
at the mast-head, beheld the summit of three mountains rising above
the horizon. He immediately gave the cry of land, to the great joy
of the crew. As the ships drew nearer it was observed that these
mountains were united at the base. Columbus had determined to
consecrate the first land he should behold, by giving it the name of
the Trinity. The appearance of these three mountains united into
one struck him as a singular and almost mysterious coincidence
with this determination, and he was inspired with a solemn feeling
of devotion as he gave to this newly discovered island the name of
La Trinidad, which it continues to bear at the present day.f

CHAPTER n.

VOYAGE THROUGH THE GULF OF FARIA.

[1498.]

Shaping his course for the island, Columbus approached its eastern
extremity, to which he gave the name of Punta de la Galera, from
the form of a rock in the sea, which resembled a galley under sail.
He was obliged to coast for five leagues along the southern shore
before he could find safe anchorage. On the following day, (Au-
gust 1,) he continued coasting westward, in search of water, and a
convenient harbour where the vessels might be careened. He was
surprised at the verdure and fertility of the country, having expected
to find it more parched and steril as he approached the equator;
whereas he beheld stately groves of palm-trees, and luxuriant forests,
which swept down to the seaside, with fountains and running
streams beneath their shade. The shores were low and uninhabited,
but the country rose in the interior, was cultivated in many places
and enlivened by hamlets and scattered habitations. In a word, the

Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 67. t Idem, ubi sup.

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 361

softness and purity of the climate, and the verdure, freshness, and
sweetness of the country, appeared to Columbus to equal the delights
of early spring in the beautiful province of Valencia, in Spain.*

Anchoring at a point to which he gave the name of Punta de la
Playa, he sent the boats on shore for water. Here, to their great
joy, the seamen found an abundant and limpid brook, at which they
filled their casks. There was no safe harbour, however, for the ves-
sels, nor could they meet with any of the islanders, though they found
traces ot their footsteps, and various fishing implements, which they
had left behind, in the hurry of their flight. There were tracks also
of animals, which the seamen supposed to be goats, but which must
have been deer, with which, as it was afterwards ascertained, the
island abounded.

While thus coasting the island, on the 1st of August, Columbus
beheld land to the south, stretching to the distance of more than
twenty leagues. It was that low tract of coast intersected by the
numerous branches of the Oronoco, but the admiral, supposing it to
, be an island, gave it the name of La Isla Santa ; little imagining
that he now for the first time beheld that main continent, that Terra
Firma, which had been the object of his earnest search.

On the 2d of August, he continued on to the southwest point of
Trinidad, which he called Point Arenal. It stretched towards a
corresponding point of Terra Firma, making a narrow pass, with a
high rock in the centre, to which he gave the name of El Gallo.
Near this pass the ships cast anchor. As they were approaching
this place, a large canoe, in which were five and twenty Indians,
put off from the shore, and coming within bowshot, paused and hail-
ed the ships, in a language which no one on board understood. Be-
ing extremely desirous of obtaining a near view of these people, and
of making inquiries concerning their country, Columbus tried to
allure them on board, by friendly signs, by the display of looking-
glasses, basins of polished metal, and various glittering trinkets, but
all in vain. They remained gazing in mute wonder for above two
hours, but with their paddles in their hands, ready to take to flight
on the least attempt to approach them. They were near enough,
however, for him to have a full view of them. They were all young
men, well formed, with long hair, and fairer complexions than the
Indians he had hitherto seen. They were naked, excepting bands
and fillets of cotton about their heads, and coloured cloths of the
same about their loins. They were armed with bows and arrows,

• Letter of Columbus to the sovereigns, from Hispaniola. Navarrete, Collec.
T.l. 2F

362 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book X.

the latter feathered and tipped with bone, and they had bucklers, au
article of armour which had never before been seen among the inha-
bitants of the new world.

Having found all other means to attract them ineffectual, Colum-
bus now tried the power of music. He knew the fondness of the
Indians for dances performed to the sound of their rude drums, and
the chant of their traditional ballads. He ordered something simi-
lar to be executed on the deck of his ship, where, while one man
sung to the beat of the tabor and the sound of other musical instru
ments; the ship-boys, danced after the popular Spanish fashion.
No sooner, however, did this symphony strike up, than the Indians,
mistaking it for a signal of hostilities, put their bucklers on their
arms, seized their bows, and let fly a shower of arrows. This rude
salutation was immediately answered by the discharge of a couple
of crossbows, which put the auditors to flight, and concluded this
singular entertainment.

Though thus shy of the admiral's vessel, they approached one of
the caravels without fear or hesitation, and running under the stern,
had a parley with the pilot, who gave a cap and mantle to the one
who appeared to be the chieftain. He received the presents with
great delight, inviting the pilot by signs to come to land, where he
should be well entertained, and receive great presents in return. On
his appearing to consent, they went to shore to wait for him. The
pilot put off in the boat of the caravel to ask permission of the admi-
ral; but the Indians seeing him go on board of the hostile ship, sus-
pected some treachery, and springing into their canoe, darted away
with the swiftness of the wind, nor was any thing more seen of
them.*

The complexion and other physical characteristics of these sa-
vages, caused much surprise and speculation in the mind of Colum-
bus. Supposing himself in the seventh degree of latitude, though
actually in the tenth, he had expected to find the inhabitants similar
to the natives of Africa under the same parallel, who were black,
ill shaped, and with crisped hair, or rather wool ; whereas these In-
dians were well formed, had long hair, and were even fairer than
those more distant from the equator. The climate also, instead of
being hotter as he approached the equinoctial, appeared more tem-
perate. He was now in the dog-days, yet the nights and mornings
were so cool that it was necessary to use covering as in winter.
This is the case in many parts of the Torrid Zone, especially in

* Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 88. P. Martyr, Decad. 1, L. 6. Las Casas, Hist.
-Ind.L. 1, C. 138. MS. Letter of Columbus to the Castilian sovereigns, Navarrete.
CollecT. I. . •

Chap. II-l CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 363

calm weather, when there is no wind; for nature, by heavy dews,
in the long nights of those latitudes, cools and refreshes the earth
after the great heats of the day. Columbus was at first greatly
perplexed by these contradictions to the course of nature, as observed
in the Old World ; they were in opposition also to the expectations
he had founded on the theory of Ferrer the lapidary; but they gra-
dually contributed to the formation of a theory which was springing
up in his active imagination, and which will presently be shown.

After anchoring at Point Arenal, the crews were permitted to
land and refresh themselves among the shady woods and green
lawns of the island. There were no runs of water, but by sinking
pits in the sand they soon got sufficient to fill the casks. The an-
chorage at this place, however, was extremely insecure. A rapid
current set from the eastward through the strait formed by the main
land and the island of Trinidad, flowing, as Columbus observed,
night and day, with as much fury as the Guadalquiver when swollen
by floods. In the pass between Point Arenal and its correspondent
poirt, the confined current boiled and raged to such a degree that
he thought it was crossed by a reef of rocks and shoals, preventing
all entrance, with others extending beyond, over which the waters
roared like breakers on a rocky shore. To this pass, from its angry
and dangerous appearance, he gave the name of Boca de la Sierpe,
(the Mouth of the Serpent.) He thus found himself placed between
two difficulties. The continual current from the east seemed to
prevent all return, while the rocks which appeared to beset the pass,
threatened destruction if he should attempt to proceed. Being on
board of his ship, late at night, kept awake by painful illness, and
an anxious and watchful spirit, he heard a terrible roaring from the
south. On looking out in that direction, he beheld the sea heaped
up, as it were, into a great ridge or hill, the height of the ship,
covered with foam, and rolling towards him with a tremendous up-
roar. As this furious surge approached, rendered more terrible in
appearance by the obscurity of night, he trembled for the safety of
his vessels. His own ship was suddenly lifted up with violence, to
such a height that he dreaded lest it should be overturned, or cast
upon the rocks, while another of the ships was torn violently from
her anchorage, and exposed to imminent peril. The crews were
for a time in great consternation, and feared they should be swal-
lowed up in the commotion of the waters ; but this mountainous
fiurge passed on, and gradually subsided, after a violent contest with
the counter current of the strait.* This sudden rush of water, it is

* Letter of Columbus to the Castilian sovereigns, Navarrete, Collec. T. 1.
Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, Lib. 3, C. 10. Hist, del Almirante, C. 69.

364 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book X.

supposed, was caused by the swelling of one of the rivers which
flow into the gulf of Paria, and which was as yet unknown to Co-
lumbus.

Anxious to extricate himself from this dangerous neighbourhood,
he sent the boats on the following morning to sound the depth of
water at the Boca del Sierpe, and to ascertain whether it was pos-
sible for the ships to pass through to the northward. To his great
joy, they returned with a report that there were several fathoms of
water, and currents and eddies setting both ways, either to enter or
return. A favourable breeze prevailing, he immediately made sail,
and passing through the formidable strait in safety, found himself
in a tranquil expanse beyond. He was now on the inner side of
Trinidad. To his left spread that broad gulf since known by the
name of Paria, which he supposed the open sea, but was surprised
on tasting it to find the water fresh. He continued to navigate
northward towards a mountain at the northwest point of the island,
about fourteen leagues from Point Arenal. Here he beheld two
lofty capes of land opposite to each other; one on the island of
Trinidad, the other to the west, on the long promontory of Paria,
•which stretches from the main land, and forms the northern side
of the gulf, but which Columbus mistook for an island, and gave it
the name of Isla de Gracia.

Between these capes there was another pass, which appeared even
more dangerous than the Boca del Sierpe, being beset with rocks,
among which the current forced its way with roaring turbulence.
To this pass Columbus gave the name of Boca del Dragon. Not
choosing to encounter its apparent dangers, he turned northward on
Sunday, the 5th of August, and steered along the inner side of the
supposed island of Gracia, intending to keep on until he came to
the end of it, and then to strike northward into the free and open
ocean, and shape his course for Hispaniola.

It was a fair and beautiful coast, indented with fine 'harbours lying
close to each other; the country cultivated in many places, in others
covered with fruit trees and stately forests, and watered by frequent
streams. What greatly astonished Columbus, was still to find the
water fresh, and that it grew more and more so the farther he pro-
ceeded ; it being that season of the year when the various rivers
which empty themselves into this gulf are swoln by rains, and
pour forth such quantities of fresh water, as to conquer the saltness
of the ocean. He was also surprised at the smooth placidity of the
sea, which appeared as tranquil and safe as one vast harbour, so
that there was no need of seeking a port to anchor in.

As yet he had not been able to have any communication with

<5hap. II, CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 365

the people of this part of the New World. The shores which he
had visited, though occasionally cultivated by the hand of man,
were silent and deserted ; and, excepting the fugitive party in the
canoe at Point Arenal, he had seen nothing of the natives. He
was extremely anxious to meet with some human being that could
break this silence, and give him some information concerning the
country. After sailing several leagues along the coast, therefore,
he anchored on Monday, the 6 th, at a place where there appeared
signs of cultivation, and sent the boats on shore. They found va-
rious traces of men, such as fires which they had kindled, the
remains of fish which they had cooked, and footprints where they
had recently passed ; there was likewise a roofless house, but not
an individual to be seen. The coast was hilly, covered with beau-
tiful and fruitful groves, and abounding with monkeys. Continuing
further westward, to where the country was i^^-"- ^-^^elj Columbus
anchored in a river.

Immediately a canoe with three or four Indians came off to the
caravel nearest to the shore, the captain of which, pretending a de-
sire to accompany them to land, sprang into their canoe, overturned
it, and with the assistance of his seamen, secured the Indians as they
were swimming. When they were brought to the admiral; he soon
dissipated their alarm by his usual benignity ; he gave them beads,
hawks' bells, and sugar, and sent them highly gratified on shore,
where many of their countrymen were assembled. This kind treat-
ment, as usual, had the most favourable effect. Such of the natives
as had canoes, came oflf to the ships with the fullest confidence.
They were tall of stature, finely formed, and free and graceful in
their movements. Their hair was long and straight ; some wore it
cut short, but none of them braided it, as was the custom among
the natives of Hispaniola. They were armed with bows, arrows,
and targets ; the men wore cotton cloths about their heads and loins,
beautifully wrought with various colours, so as at a distance to look
like silk ; but the women were entirely naked. They brought bread,
maize, and other eate^bles, with different kinds of beverage, some
white, made from maize and resembling beer, and others green, of
a vinous flavour, and expressed from various fruits. They appeared
to judge of every thing by the sense of smell, as others examine ob- .
jects by the sight or touch. When they approached a boat they
smelt to it, and then to the people. In like manner every thing that
was given them was tried. They set but little value upon beads,
but were extravagantly delighted with hawks bells. Brass also
was held in high estimation ; they appeared to find something ex-

2F2

366 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP (Book X

tremely grateful in the smell of it, and called it Turey, signifying
that it was from the skies.*

From the Indians Columbus understood that the name of their
country was Paria, and that further to the west he would find
it more populous. Taking several of them to serve as guides
and mediators^ he proceeded eight leagues westward, to a point
which he called Aguja, or the Needle. Here he arrived at three
o'clock in the morning. When the day dawned he was ravished
with the beauty of the country. It was cultivated in many places^
highly populous, and adorned with magnificent vegetation. The
habitations of the natives were interspersed among groves laden with
fruits and flowers. The grape-vines entwined themselves among the
trees, and birds of brilliant plumage fluttered from branch to branch.
The air was temperate and bland, and sweetened by the fragrance
of flowers and blossoms ; and numerous fountains and limpid streams
kept up a universal verdure and freshness. Columbus was so much
charmed with the beauty and amenity of this favoured part of the
coast, that he gave it the name of The Gardens.

The natives came off in great numbers in canoes, which were su-
perior in construction to those hitherto seen, being very large and
light, and having a cabin in the centre for the accommodation of the
owner and his family. They invited Columbus, in the name of their
king, to come to land. Many of them had collars and burnished
plates about their necks, of that inferior kind of gold called by the In-
dians Guanin. They said that it came from a high land which they
pointed out, at no great distance to the west, but intimated that it
was dangerous to go there, either because the inhabitants were can-
nibals, or the place infested by noxious animals.f But what sud-
denly aroused the attention and awakened the cupidity of the Span-
iards, was to behold strings of pearls round the arms of some of the
natives. They informed Columbus that they were procured on the
seacoast on the northern side of Paria, which he still supposed to
be an island; and they showed the mother of pearl shells from
whence they had been taken.

Anxious to acquire further information, and to procure specimens
of these pearls to send to Spain, he dispatched the boats to shore.
The moment the Spaniards landed, a multitude of the natives cam*
to the beach to receive them, headed by the principal cacique and his
son. They treated them with profound reverence, as beings de-

* Heirera, Hist. Ind. DecewJ. 1, L. 8, C. 11.

i Letter of Columbus to the sovereigns. Navarrete, CoHec. T. J, p. 252.

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 36T

scended from heaven, and conducted them to a spacious house, the
residence of the cacique, where thej were banqueted in their simple
and hospitable way, with bread and various fruits of excellent fla
vour, and the different kinds of beverage which have been already
mentioned. While they were in the house, the men remained toge-
ther at one end of it, and the women at the other. After they had
finished their collation at the house of the cacique, they were taken
to that of the son, where a like collation was set before them.
These people were remarkably affable, with at the same time a more
intrepid and martial air and spirit, than the natives of Cuba and
Hispaniola. They were fairer, Columbus observ^es, than any he
had yet seen, though so near to the line, where he had expected to
find them of th* colour of Ethiopians. Many ornaments of gold
were seen among them, but all of an inferior quality; one Indian
had a piece of the size of an apple. They had various kinds of do-
mesticated parrots, one of a light green colour, with yellow neck,
and the tips of the wings of a bright red ; others of the size of do-
mestic fowls, and of a vivid scarlet, excepting some azure feathers
in the wings. These they readily gave to the Spaniards ; but what
the latter most coveted were the pearls, of which they saw many
necklaces and bracelets among the Indian women. The latter
gladly gave them in exchange for hawks' bells, or any article of
brass, and several specimens of fine pearls were procured for the ad-
miral to send to the sovereigns.*

The kindness and amity of this people were heightened by an in-
telligent demeanour, and a martial frankness. They seemed worthy
of the beautiful country they inhabited. It was a cause of great
concern both to them and the Spaniards, that they could not under-
stand each others' language. They conversed, however by signs;
mutual good will made their intercourse easy and pleasant, and at
the hour of vespers the Spaniards returned on board of their ships,
highly gratified with their entertainment.

• Letter of Coliunb. Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1. L. 3, C. 11 Hist, del
Almirante, Cap. 70.

LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book X.

CHAPTER III.

CONTINUATION OF THE VOYAGE THROUGH THE GULF OF
PARIA RETURN TO HISPANIOLA.

[1498.]

The quantity of fine pearls found among the natives of Paria, was
sufficient to arouse the sanguine anticipations of Columbus. It ap-
peared to corroborate the theory of Ferrer, the learned jeweller, that
as he approached the equator he would find the most rare and pre-
cious productions of nature. His active imagination, with its intui-
tive rapidity, seized upon every surrounding circumstance that
appeared to favour his wishes, and putting them together drew from
them the most brilliant inferences. He had read in Pliny that
pearls are generated from drops of dew which fall into the mouths
of oysters: if so, what place could be more propitious to their
growth and multiplication than the coast of Paria ? The dew in
these parts was heavy and abundant, and the oysters were so plen-
tiful that they clustered about the roots and pendant branches of the
mangrove trees, which grew within the margin of the tranquil sea.
When a branch which had drooped for a time in the water was
drawn forth, it was found covered with oysters. Las Casas, notic-
ing this sanguine conclusion of Columbus, observes, that the shell-
fish here spoken of are not of the kind which produce pearl ; for that
those, by a natural instinct, as if conscious of their precious charge,
hide themselves in the deepest water.*

Still imagining the coast of Paria to be an island, and anxious to
circumnavigate it and arrive at the place where these pearls where
said by the Indians to abound, Columbus left the Gardens on the
10th of August, and continued coasting westward within the gulf,
in search of an outlet to the north. He observed portions of Terra
Firma appearing towards the bottom of the gulf, which he supposed
to be islands, and called them Isabeta and Tramontana, and fancied
that the desired outlet to the sea must lie between them. As he ad-
vanced, however, he found the water continually growing shallower
and fresher, until he did not dare to venture any farther with his ship,
which, he observed, was of too great size for expeditions of this

• Las Casas, Hist. Ind. Cap. 136,

Ch^p. III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 36^

kind, being of a hundred tons burthen, and reqiiiring three fathoms
of water. He came to anchor, therefore, and sent a Hght caravel
called the Oorreo to ascertain whether there was an outlet to the
ocean between the supposed islands. The caravel returned on the
following day, reporting that at the western end of the gulf there
was an opening of two leagues, which led into an inner and circular
gulf, surrounded by four openings, apparently smaller gulfs, or
rather mouths of rivers, from which flowed the great quantity of
fresh water that sweetened the neighbouring sea. In fact, from one
of these mouths issued the great river the Cuparipari, or as it is now
called, the Paria. To this inner and circular gulf Columbus gave
the name of the Gulf of Pearls, through a mistaken idea that they
abounded in its waters, none, in fact, being found there. He still
imagined that the four openings of which the mariners spoke might
be intervals between islands, though they affirmed that all the land he
saw was one connected continent.* As it was impossible to proceed
further westward with his ships, he had no alternative but to retrace
his course, and seek an exit to the north by the Boca del Dragon.
He would gladly have continued for some time to explore this coast,
for he considered himself in one of those opulent regions described
as the most favoured upon earth, and which must increase in riches
towards the equator. Imperious considerations, however, compelled
him to shorten his voyage and hasten to St. Domingo. The sea-
stores of his ships were almost exhausted, and the various supplies
for the colony, with which they were freighted, were in danger of
spoiUng. He was suflfering, also, extremely in his health. Besides
the gout, which had rendered him a cripple for the greater part of
the voyage, he was afflicted by a complaint in his eyes, caused by
fatigue and over-watching, which almost deprived him of his sight.
Even the voyage along the coast of Cuba, he observes^ in which he
was thirty and three days almost without sleep, had not so injured
his eyes, and disordered his blood, or caused him so much painful
suffering as the present.!

On the Uth of August, therefore, he set sail eastward for the Boca
del Dragon and was borne along with great velocity by the currents;
which, however, prevented him from landing again at his favourite
spot, the Gardens. On Sunday the 13th he anchored near to the
Boca, in a fine harbour, to which he gave the name of Puerto de
Gates from a species of monkey called gato paulo, with which the
neighbourhood abounded. On the borders of the sea he perceived
many trees which, as he thought, produced the mirabolane, a fruit

♦ Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 78.

t Letter of Columbus to the sovereigns. Navarrete, T. 1, p. 252.
Vol. I. 24^

370 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book X.

only found in the countries of the East. There were great numbers
also of mangroves growing within the water, with oysters clinging
to their branches, their mouths open, as he supposed, to receive the
dew, which was afterwards to be transformed to pearls.*

On the following morning, the 14th of August, towards noon, the
ships approached the Boca del Dragon, and prepared to venture
through that formidable pass. The distance from cape Boto at the
end of Paria, and cape Lapa, the extremity of Trinidad, is about
five leagues ; but in the interval there were two islands, which Co-
lumbus named Caracol and Delfin. The impetuous 'body of fresh
water which flows through the gulf, particularly in the rainy months
of July and August, is confined at the narrow outlets between these
islands, where it causes a turbulent sea, foaming and roaring as if
breaking over rocks and rendering the entrance and exit of the gulf
extremely dangerous. The horrors and perils of such places are
always tenfold to discoverers, who have no chart, or pilot, or advice
of previous voyager to guide them. Columbus at first apprehended
sunken rocks and shoals, but on considering the commotion of the
Btrait, he attributed it to the conflict between the prodigious body of
fresh water setting through the gulf and struggling for an outlet,
and the tide of salt water struggling to enter. The ships had scarcely
ventured into the fearful channel when the wind died away, and they
were in danger every moment of being thrown upon the rocks or
sands. The current of fresh water, however, gained the victory, and
carried them safely through. The admiral, when once more safe in
the open sea, congratulated himself upon his escape from this peril-
ous strait ; which, he observes, might well be called the mouth of
the Dragon, t

He now stood to the westward, running along the outer coast of
Paria, still supposing it an island, and intending to visit the Gulf
of Pearls, which he imagined to be at the end of it, opening to the
sea. He wished to ascertain whether this great body of fresh water
proceeded from rivers, as the crew of the caravel Correo had af-
firmed ; for it appeared to him impossible that the streams of mere
islands, as he supposed the surrounding land, could furnish such a
prodigious volume of water.

On leaving the Boca del Dragon, he saw to the northeast, many
leagues distant, two islands, which he called Assumption and Con-
ception, probably those now known as Tobago and Granada. In
his course along the northern coast of Paria, he saw several other
small islands, and many fine harbours, to some of which he gave

• Herrera, Hist. Ind. Decad. 1, L. 3, C. 10.
fIdem.Decad. l,L.3,C.ll.

Chap. Hi.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 371

names, but they have ceased to be known by them. On the 15th
he discovered the islands of Margarita and Cubagua, afterwards
famous for their pearl fishery. The island of Margarita, about fif-
teen leagues in length, and six in breadth, was well peopled. The
little island of Cubagua, lying between it and the mainland, and
only about four leagues from the latter, was dry and steril, without
either wood or fresh water, but possessing a good harbour. On ap-
proaching this island, the admiral beheld a number of Indians fishing
for pearls, who made for the land. A boat being sent to communi-
cate with them, one of the sailors noticed many strmgs of pearls
round the neck of a female. Having a plate of Valentia ware, a
kind of porcelain painted and varnished with gaudy colours, he broke
it and presented the pieces to the Indian woman, wh3 gave him in
exchange a considerable number of her pearls. These he carried to
the admiral, who immediately sent persons on shore, well provided
with Valentian plates and hawks' bells, for which in a little time he
procured about three pounds' weight of pearls, some of which were
of a very large size, and were sent by him afterwards to the sove-
reigns as specimens.*

There was great temptation to linger near these shores, and to
visit other spots which the Indians mentioned as abounding in
pearls. The coast of Paria also continued extending to the west-
ward as far as the eye could reach, rising into a range of mountains,
and provoking examination, to ascertain whether, as he began to
think, it was a part of the Asiatic continent. Columbus was com-
pelled, however, though with the greatest reluctance, to forego this
most interesting investigation. The malady of his eyes had now
grown so virulent, that he could no longer take observations, or keep a
look out, but had to trust to the reports of the pilots and mariners.
He bore away, therefore, for Hispaniola, intending to repose there from
the toils of his voyage, and to recruit his health, while he should
send his brother, the Adelantado, to complete the discovery of this
important country. After sailing for five days to the northwest, he
made the island of Hispaniola on the 19th of August, fifty leagues
to the westward of the river Ozema, the place of his destination, and
anchored on the following morning under the little island of Beata.

He was astonished to find himself so mistaken in his calculations,
and so far below his destined port ; but attributed it correctly to the
force of the current, setting out of the Boca del Dragon, which,
while he had lain to at nights, to avoid running on rocks and shoals,
had borne his ships insensibly to the west. This current which sets

* Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming. Lib 3, p. 169,

972 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book X.

across the Caribbean sea, and the continuation of which now bears
the name of the Gulf Stream, was so rapid, that on the 15th, though
the wind was but moderate, the ships had made seventj-five leagues
in four and twenty hours. Columbus attributed to the violence of
this current the formation of that pass called the Boca del Dragon,
where he supposed it had forced its way through a narrow isthmus
that formerly connected Trinidad with the extremity of Paria. He
imagined, also, that its constant operation had worn away and inun-
dated the borders of the mainland, gradually producing that fringe
of islands which stretches from Trinidad to the Lucayos, or Baha-
mas, and which, according to his idea, had originally been part of
the solid continent. In corroboration of this opinion, he notices the
form of those islands, being narrow from north to south, and extend-
ing in length from east to west, in the direction of the current.*

The island of Beata, where Columbus had anchored, is about
thirty leagues to the west of the river Ozema, where he expected to
find the new seaport which his brother had been instructed to esta-
blish. The strong and steady current from the east, however, and the
prevalence of winds from that quarter, might detain him for a long
time at the island, and render the remainder of his voyage slow and
precarious. He sent a boat on shore, therefore, to procure an Indian
messenger to take a letter to his brother the Adelantado. Six of the
natives came oflf to the ships, one of whom was armed with a Span-
ish crossbow. The anxious mind of the admiral was immediately
alarmed at seeing a weapon of the kind in the possession of an In-
dian. It was not an article of traffic, and he feared could only have
fallen into his hands by the death of some Spaniard.! He appre-
hended that further evils had befallen the settlements during his long
absence, and that there had again been troubles with the natives.

Having dispatched his messenger, he again made sail, and arrived
off of the mouth of the river on the 30th of August. He was met on
the way by a caravel, on board of which was the Adelantado, who,
having received his letter, had hastened forth, with affectionate ar-
dour, to welcome his arrival. The meeting of the brothers was a
cause of mutual joy; they were strongly attached to each other;
each had had his trials and sufferings during their long separation,
and each looked with confidence to the other for comfort and relief.
Don Bartholomew appears to have always had great deference for the
brilliant genius, the enlarged mind, and the commanding reputation
of his brother; while the latter placed great reUance, in times of diffi-

* Letter to the king and queen, Navarrete, Collec T. 1.
t Las Casas, Hist. Ind, L. 1, C. 148.

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 373

culty, on the worldly knowledge, the indefatigable activity, and the
lion-hearted courage of the Adelantado.

Columbus arrived almost the wreck of himself. His voyages
were always of a nature to wear out the human frame, having to
navigate amidst unknown dangers, and to keep anxious watch at
all hours and in all weathers. As age and infirmity increased upon
him, these trials became the more severe. His constitution must
originally have been wonderfully vigorous; but constitutions of this
powerful kind, if exposed to severe hardships at an advanced period
of life, when the frame has become somewhat rigid and unaccom-
modating, are apt to be suddenly broken up, and to be a prey, to
violent aches and maladies. In this last voyage Columbus had
been parched and consumed by fever, racked by gout, and his whole
system disordered by incessant watchfulness; he came into port hag-
gard, emaciated, and almost blind. His spirit, however, was as
usual superior to all bodily affliction or decay; and he looked for-
ward with magnificent anticipations to the result of his recent dis-
coveries, which he intended should be immediately prosecuted by
his hardy and enterprising brother.

CHAPTER IV.

SPECULATIONS OF COLUMBUS CONCERNING THE COAST OF PARIA.

[1498.]

The natural phenomena of a great and striking nature, which pre-
sented themselves in the course of this voyage, had powerfully ex-
cited the contemplative mind of Columbus. In considering the vast
body of fresh water which flows into the gulf of Paria, and thence
rushes with such force into the ocean, he formed one of his simple
and grand conclusions. It could not be produced by an island, or
by islands; it must be some mighty river which had wandered
through a great extent of country, collecting all its streams, and
pouring them in one vast current into the ocean. The land, there-
fore, which furnished such a river, must be a continent. He now
supposed that the various tracts of land which he had beheld about
this gulf, were mostly connected together. That the coast of Paria
extended far to the west, beyond a chain of mountains which he

2 G

374 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF Book X

had beheld afar off from Margarita; and that the land opposite to
Trinidad, instead of being an island, continued to an immense dis-
tance to the south, far beyond the equator, into that hemisphere hither-
to unknown to civilized man. He considered all this a^ extension
of the Asiatic continent; thus presuming that the greater part of the
surface of the globe was firm land. In this last opinion he found
himself supported by authors of the highest name, both ancient and
modern; among whom he cites Aristotle and Seneca, St. Augustine
and cardinal Pedro de Aliaco, to whose writings he always attached
great value. He lays particular stress also on the assertion of the
apochryphal Esdras that, of seven parts of the world six are dry
land, and one part only is covered with water.

The land, therefore, surrounding the gulf of Paria, was but the
border of an almost boundless continent, stretching far to the west
and to the south, including the most precious regions of the earth,
lying under the most auspicious stars and benignant skies; but as
yet unknown and uncivilized, free to be discovered and appropriated
by any Christian nation. " May it please our Lord," he exclaims
in his letter to the sovereigns, " to give long life and health and
leisure to your highnesses, that you may prosecute this so noble en-
terprise, in which, methinks, God will receive great service, Spain
vast increase of grandeur, and all Christians much consolation and
delight, since the name of our Saviour will be divulged throughout
these lands."

So far the deductions of Columbus, though sanguine, admit of
little cavil; but he carried them still further, until they ended in
what may appear to some mere chimerical reveries. In his letter to
the sovereigns he stated that in his former voyages, when he steered
westward from the Azores, he had observed, after sailing about a
hundred leagues, a sudden and great change in the sky and the
stars, the temperature of the air, and the calmness of the ocean. It
seemed as if a line ran from north to south, beyond which every
thing became different. The needle, which had previously inclined
toward the northeast, now varied a whole point to the northwest.
The sea, hitherto clear, was covered with weeds, so dense, that in
his first voyage he had expected to run aground upon shoals. A
universal tranquillity reigned throughout the elements, and the
climate was mild and genial, whether in summer or winter. On
taking his astronomical observations at night, after crossing that
imaginary line, the north star appeared to him to describe a diurnal
circle in the heavens, of five degrees in diameter.

On his present voyage he had varied his route, and had run south-
ward from the Cape de Verd islands, for the equinoctial line. Before

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 375

reaching it, however, the heat had become insupportable, and a
wind springing up from the east, he had been induced to strike west-
ward when in the parallel of Sierra Leone in Guinea. For several
days he had been almost consumed by scorching and stifling heat,
under a sultry yet clouded sky, and in a drizzling atmosphere, until
he arrived at the ideal line already mentioned, extending from north
to south. • Here suddenly to his great relief, he had emerged into
serene weather, with a clear blue sky, and a sweet and temperate
atmosphere. The further he had proceeded west, the more pure
and genial he had found the climate, the sea tranquil, the breezes
soft and balmy. All these phenomena coincided with those he had
remarked at the same line, though further north, in his former voy-
ages ; excepting that here there was no herbage in the sea, and the
movements of the stars were different. The polar star appeared to
him here to describe a diurnal circle of ten degrees in diameter, in-
stead of five ; an augmentation which struck him with astonishment,
but which, he says, he ascertained by observations taken in different
nights, with his quadrant. Its greatest altitude at the former place,
in the parallel of the Azores, he had found ten degrees, and in the
present place fifteen.

From these and other circumstances, he was inclined to doubt the
received theory with respect to the form of the earth. Philosophers
had described it as spherical, but they knew nothing of the part of
the world which he had discovered. The ancient part, known to
them, he had no doubt was spherical ; but he now supposed that the
real form of the earth was that of a pear, one part much more ele-
vated than the rest, and tapering upwards toward the skies. This
part he supposed to be in the interior of this newly found continent,
and immediately under the equator. All the phenomena which he
had previously noticed, appeared to corroborate this theory. The
variations which he had observed in passing the imaginary line
running from north to south, he concluded to be by the ships having
arrived at this supposed swelling of the earth, where they began
gently to mount towards the skies, into a purer and more celestial
atmosphere.* The variation of the needle he ascribed to the same
cause, being affected by the coolness and mildness of the climate,
varying to the northwest in proportion as the ships continued on-
ward in their ascent, t So, also, the altitude of the north star, and

* Peter Martyr mentions that the admiral told him, that, from the climate of
great heat and unwholesome air, he had ascended the back of the sea, as it were
ascending a high mountain, towards heaven. Decad. 1, L. 6.

t Columbus, in his attempts to account for the variation of the needle, supposed
that the north star possessed the quality of the four cardinal points, as did likewise

^76 Lll^ AND VOYAGES OP fBooK X.

the circle it described in the heavens, appeared to be greater in con-
Bequence of being regarded from a greater elevation, less obliquely,
and through a purer medium of atmosphere ; and these phenomena
would be found to increase the more one approached the equator,
from the still increasing eminence of this part of the earth.

He noticed, also, the difference of the climate, vegetation, and
people, of this part of the new world, from those under the same
parallel in Africa. There the heat was insupportable, the land
parched and steril, the inhabitants were black, with crisped wool,
ill-shapen in their forms, and dull and brutal in their natures. Here,
on the contrary, although the sun was in Leo, he found the noontide
heat moderate, the mornings and evenings fresh and cool, the coun-
try green and fruitful, and covered with beautiful forests, the people
fairer even than those in the lands he had discovered further north,
having long hair, with well-proportioned and graceful forms, live-
ly minds, and courageous dispositions. All this, in a latitude so
near to the equator, he attributed to the superior altitude of this
part of the world, by which it was raised into a more celestial region
of the air. On turning northward, through the gulf of Paria, he
had found the circle described by the north star again to diminish.
The current of the sea also increased in velocity, wearing away, as
has already been remarked, the borders of the continent, and pro-
ducing, by its incessant operations, the adjacent islands. This was
a further confirmation of the idea that he ascended in going south-
ward, and descended in returning northward.

Aristotle had imagined that the highest part of the earth, and
nearest to the skies, was under the antarctic pole. Other sages had
maintained that it was under the arctic. Hence it was apparent
that both conceived one part of the earth to be more elevated and
noble, and nearer to the heavens than the rest. They did not think
of this eminence being under the equinoctial line, observes Colum-
bus, because they had no certain knowledge of this hemisphere, but
only spoke of it theoretically and from conjecture.

As usual he assisted his theory by holy writ. " The sun, when
God made it," he observes, "was in the first point of the orient ; or,
the first light was there." That place, according to his idea, muist
be here, in the remotest part of the east, where the ocean and the

the loadstone* That if the needle were touched with one part of the loadstoijft>
it would point east, with another, west, and so on. "Wherefore, he adds, those who
prepare or magnetize the needles, cover the loadstone with a cloth, so that the
north part only remains out, that is to say, the part which possesses the virtue
of causing the needle to point to the north. Hist, del AUnirante^ C. 6^

Chap IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 377

extreme part of India meet, under the equinoctial line, and where
the highest part of the earth is situated.

^ He supposed this apex of the world, though of immense height,
to be neither rugged nor precipitous, but that the land rose to it by
gentle and imperceptible degrees. The beautiful and fertile shores
of Paria were situated on its remote borders ; abounding, of course,
with those precious articles which are congenial with the most fa-
voured and excellent climates. As one penetrated the interior and
gradually ascended, the land would be found to increase in beauty
and luxuriance, and in the exquisite nature of its productions ; until
one arrived at the summit under the equator. This he imagined to
be the noblest and most perfect place on earth ; enjoying from its
position an equality of days and nights, and a uniformity of seasonsj
and being elevated into a serene and heavenly temperature, above
the heats and colds, the clouds and vapours, the storms and tempests,
which deform and disturb the lower regions. In a word, here he
supposed to be situated the original abode of our first parents, the
primitive seat of human innocence and bliss, the Garden of Eden,
or terrestrial Paradise.

He imagined this place, according to the opinions of the most emi-
nent fathers of the church, to be still flourishing possessed of all its
blissful delights, but inaccessible to mortal feet, excepting by divine
permission. From this height, he presumed, though of course from
a great distance, proceeded this mighty stream of fresh water which
filled the gulf of Paria, and sweetened the salt ocean in its vicinity ;
being supplied by the fountain mentioned in Genesis, as springing
from the tree of life in the Garden of Eden.

Such was the singular speculation of Columbus, which he detail-
ed at full length, in a letter to the Castilian sovereigns,* citing vari-
ous authorities for his opinions, among which were St. Augustine,
St. Isidor, and St. Ambrosius, and fortifying his theory with much
of that speculative erudition in which he was deeply versed. f It
shows how his ardent mind was heated by the magnificence of his
discoveries. Shrewd men, in the coolness and quietude of ordinary
life, and in these modern days of cautious and sober fact, may smile

* Navarrete, CoUec. de Viages, T. 1, p. 242,

t See illustrations, article, " Situation of the Terrestrial Paradise." '

Note. A great part of these speculations appear to have been founded on the
treatises of the cardinal Pierre de Alliaco, ip which Columbus found a compendium
of the opinions of various eminent authors on the subject ; though it is probable
he consulted many of their works likewise. In the volume of Pierre de Alliaco,
existing in the library of the cathedral of Seville, I have traced the germs of these
ideas, in various passages of the text, opposite to which marginal notes have been
made in the handwriting of Columbus, 2 G 2

SfS LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [BookX.

at such a reverie ; but it was countenanced by the speculations of the
most sage and learned of those times ; and if this had not been the
case, could we wonder at any sally of the imagination in one placed
in the situation of Columbus 1 He beheld a vast world, rising, as it
were, into existence before him ; its nature and extent unknown and
undefined, as yet a mere region for conjecture. Every day displayed
some new feature of beauty and sublimity ; island after island, whose
rocks he was told were veined with gold, whose groves teemed with
spices, or whose shores abounded with pearls. Interminable ranges
of coast, promontory beyond promontory, stretching as far as the eye
could reach ; luxuriant valleys, sweeping away into a vast interior,
whose distant mountains, he was told, concealed still happier lands,
and realms of still greater opulence. When he looked upon all this
region of golden promise, it was with the glorious conviction that his
genius had called it into existence ; he regarded it with the triumph-
ant eye of a discoverer. Had not Columbus be«n capable of these
enthusiastic soarings of the imagination, he might, with other sages,
have reasoned calmly and coldly about the probability of a continent
existing in the west, but he would never have had the daring enter-
prise to adventure in search of it into the unknown realms of oceans.
Still, in the midst of his fanciful speculations, we find that solid
foundation of sagacity which formed the basis of his character. The
conclusion which he drew from the great flow of the Oronoko, that
it must be the outpouring of a continent, was shrewd and striking-.
A learned Spanish historian has also ingeniously excused other parts
of his theory. " He suspected," observes he, " a certain elevation of
the globe at one part of the equator ; philosophers have since deter-
mined the world to be a spheroid, slightly elevated in its equatorial
circumference. He suspected that the diversity of temperatures
influenced the needle ; not being able to penetrate the cause of its
inconstant variations ; the successive series of voyages and experi-
ments have made this inconstancy more manifest, and have shown
that extreme cold sometimes divests the needle of all its virtue. Per-
haps new observations may justify the surmise of Columbus. Even
his error concerning the circle described by the polar star, which he
thought augmented, by an optical illusion, in proportion as the ob-
server approached the equinox, manifests him a philosopher superior
the time in which he lived."*

• Muaojv Hist. N. Mundo, L. 6, J 32.

LIFE AND VOYAGES

OF

CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

BOOK XI.

CHAPTER I.

ADMINISTRATION OF THE ADELANTADO EXPEDITION TO TH«

PROVINCE OF XARAGUA.

[1498.]

Columbus had anticipated repose from his toils on arriving* at His-
paniola, but a new scene of trouble and anxiety opened upon him,
which was destined to impede the prosecution of his enterprises, and
to affect all his future fortunes. To explain this, it is necessary to
relate the occurrences of the island in the long space of time, dur-
ing which he had seen so injuriously detained in Spain.

When he sailed for Europe in March, 1496, his brother, Don
Bartholomew, who remained as governor, with the title of Adelan-
tado, took the earliest measures to execute his directions, with respect
to the mines recently discovered by Miguel Diaz, on the south side
of the island. Leaving Don Diego Columbus in command at Isa-
bella, he repaired with a large force to the neighbourhood of the
mines, and choosing a favourable situation in a place most abound-
ing in ore, he built a fortress, to which he gave the name of St
Christoval. The workmen, however, finding grains of gold among
the earth and stone employed in its construction, gave it the name
of the Golden Tower.*

The Adelantado remained here three months, superintending the
building of the fortress, and making the necessary preparations for
working the mines, and purifying the ore. The progress of the
■work, however, was greatly impeded by scarcity of provisions, hav-

P. Martyr, Decad. 1, L. 5

880 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book XI

ing frequently to detach a part of the men from their labours, and
to send them about the country in quest of supplies. The former
hospitality of the island was at an end. The Indians no longer
gave their provisions freely ; they had learnt from the white men to
profit by the necessities of the stranger, and to exact a price for the
bread that was to relieve his hunger. Their scanty stpres also were
Boon exhausted ; for their frugal habits, and their natural indolence
and improvidence, seldom permitted them to have more provisions on
hand than was requisite for present support. The Adelantado found
it difficult, therefore, to maintain so large a force in the neighbour-
hood, until they should have time to cultivate the earth and raise
live stock, or should receive suppUes from Spain. Leaving ten men
to guard the fortress, with a dog to assist them in catching utias,
he marched with the rest of his men, about four hundred in number,
to fort Conception, in the abundant country of the Vega. Here he
passed the whole month of June, collecting the quarterly tribute,
being supplied with food by Guarionex and his subordinate ca-
ciques.*

In the following month, (July, 1496,) the three caravals com-
manded by Nino arrived from Spain, bringing a reinforcement of
men, and what was still more needed, a supply of provisions. The
latter was quickly distributed among the hungry colonists, but unfor-
tunately, a great part was found to have been injured during the
voyage. This was a serious misfortune, in a community where
the least pressure of scarcity produced murmur and sedition.

By these ships the Adelantado received letters from his brother,
directing him to found a town and seaport in the mouth of the Oze-
ma, near to the new mines. He requested him also to send prisoners
to Spain, such of the caciques and their subjects as had been con-
cerned in the death of any of the colonists; that being considered a suf-
ficient ground, by many of the ablest jurists and theologians of Spain,
for selling them as slaves. On the return of the caravels, the Ade-
lantado dispatched three hundred Indian prisoners, and three ca-
ciques. These formed the ill-starred cargoes about which Nino had
made such absurd vaunting, as though his ships were laden with
treasure, and which had caused such mortification, disappointment,
and delay to Columbus.

Having obtained by this arrival a supply of provisions, the Adelan
tando returned to the fortress of St. Christoval, and from thence
proceeded to the Ozema to choose a site for the proposed seaport.
After a careful examination, he chose the eastern bank of a natural

• P. Martyr, Decad. 1, L. 5.

Chap. I.j CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 381

haven at the mouth of the river. It was easy of access, of sufficient
depth, and good anchorage. The river ran through a beautiful and
fertile country; its waters were pure and salubrious, and well
stocked with fish ; its banks were covered with trees bearing the fine
fruits of the island, so that in sailing along the fruits and flowers
might be plucked with the hand from the branches which overhung
the stream.* This delightful vicinity was the dwelling place of the
female cacique, who had conceived an affection for the young Span-
iard, Miguel Diaz, and had induced him to entice his countrymen
to that part of the island. The promise she had given of a friendly
reception on the part of her tribe, was faithfully performed.

On a commanding bank of the harbour Don Bartholomew erected
a fortress, which at first was called Isabella, but afterwards St. Do-
mingo, and was the origin of the city which still bears that name.
The Adelantado was of an active and indefatigable spirit. No
sooner was the fortress completed, than he left in it a garrison of
twenty men, and with the rest of his forces set out on an expedition
to visit the dominions of Behechio, one of the principal chieftains
of the island. This cacique, as has already been mentioned, reigned
over Xaragua, a province comprising almost the whole coast at the
west end of the island, including Cape Tiburon, and extending
along the south side as far as Point Aguida, or the small island of
Beata. It was one of the most populous and fertile districts;
with a delightful climate, and its inhabitants, were softer and more
graceful in their manners than the rest of the islanders. Being so
remote from all the fortresses, the cacique, although he had taken
a part in the combination of the chieftains, had hitherto remained
free from the incursions and exactions of the white men.

With this cacique resided Anacaona, widow of the late formidable
Caonabo. She was sister to Behechio, and had taken refuge with
her brother after the capture of her husband. She was one of the
most beautiful females of the island ; her name, in the Indian lan-
guage, signified " The Golden Flower." She possessed a genius
superior to the generality of her race , and was said to excel in com-
posing those httle legendary ballads, or areytos, which the natives
chanted as they performed their national dances, All the Spanish
writers agree in describing her as possessing a natural dignity and
grace hardly to be credited in her ignorant and savage condition.
Notwithstanding the ruin with which her husband had been over-
whelmed by the hostility of the white men, she appears to have en-
tertained no vindictive feeling towards them. She knew that he

*P.Mftrtyr,D. l,L,5,

382 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book XL

had provoked their vengeance by his own voluntary warfare. She
regarded the Spaniards with admiration as almost superhuman
beings ; and her intelligent mind perceived the futility and impolicy
of any attempt to resist their superiority in arts and arms. Having
great influence over her brother Behechio, she counselled him to take
warning by the fate of her husband, and to conciliate the friendship
of the Spaniards ; and it is supposed that a knowledge of the friendly
sentiments, and powerful influence of this princess, in a great mea-
sure prompted the Adelantado to his present expedition.*

In passing through those parts of the island which had hitherto
been unvisited by the Europeans, the Adelantado adopted the same
imposing measures which the admiral had used on a former occa-
sion ; he put his cavalry in the advance, and entered all the Indian
towns in martial array, with standards displayed, and the sound of
drum and trumpet, inspiring the natives with great awe and admi-
ration.

After proceeding about thirty leagues, he came to the river Ney va,
which, issuing from the mountains of Cibao, divides the southern
side of the island. Crossing this stream, he dispatched two parties,
of ten men each, along the seacoast in search of brazil wood. They
found great quantities, and felled many trees, which they stored in
the Indian cabins, until they could be taken away by sea.

Inclining with his main force to the right, the Adelantado met, not
far from the river, with the cacique Behechio, with a great army of
his subjects, armed with bows, arrows, and lances. If he had come
forth with an intention of opposing this inroad into his forest do-
mains, he was probably daunted by the formidable appearance of the
Spaniards. Laying aside his weapons, he advanced and accosted
the Adelantado very amicably ; professing that he was thus in arms
for the purpose of subjecting certain villages along the river, and in-
quiring at the same time the object of this incursion of the Span-
iards. The Adelantado assured him that he came in peace, to visit
him and his territories, and to pass a little time with him in friendly
intercourse at Xaragua. He succeeded so well in allaying the ap-
prehensions of the cacique, that he dismissed his army, and sent
swift messengers in advance, to announce his approach, and to or-
der preparations for the suitable reception of so distinguished a guest.

As the Spaniards advanced into the territories of the chieftain,
and passed through the districts of his inferior caciques, the latter
brought forth cassava bread, hemp, cotton, etnd the various produc-

Charlevoix, Hist. St. Doming. L. 2, p. 147. Munoz, Hist. N. Mundo,
L. 6, $ 6.

Chap I.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 383

tions of the land. At length they drew near to the residence of Be-
hechio, which was a large town situated in a beautiful part of the
country, near the coast, at the bottom of that deep bay called at
present the Bight of Leogan.

The Spaniards had heard many accounts of the soft and delight-
ful region of Xaragua, in one part of which some of the Indian
traditions placed their elysian fields. They had heard much also of
the beauty and urbanity of the inhabitants ; the mode of their recep-
tion was calculated to confirm their favourable prepossessions. As
they approached the place, thirty females of the cacique's household
came forth to meet them, singing their areytos or traditionary bal-
lads, and dancing and waving palm-branches. The married fe-
males wore aprons of embroidered cotton, reaching half way to the
knee ; the young women were entirely naked, with merely a fillet
round the forehead, their hair falling upon their shoulders. They
were beautifully proportioned, their skin smooth and delicate, and
their complexion of a clear and agreeable brown. According to
old Peter Martyr, the Spaniards, when they beheld them issuing
forth from their green woods, almost imagined they beheld the fabled
dyrades or native nymphs and fairies of the fountains, sung by the
ancient poets. When they came before Don Bartholomew they
knelt, and gracefully presented him the green branches.*

After these came the female cacique Anacaona, reclining on a kind
of Ught litter, borne by six Indians. Like the other females, she had
no other covering than an apron of various coloured cotton. She
wore round her head a fragrant garland of red and white flowers,
and wreaths of the same round her neck and arms. She received
the Adelantado and his followers with that natural grace and cour-
tesy for which she was celebrated ; manifesting no hostility towards
them for the fate her husband had experienced at their hands. On
the contrary, she seemed from the first to conceive for them great
admiration and sincere friendship.

The Adelantado and his officers were now conducted to the house
of Behechio, where a banquet was served up of utias, a great variety
of sea and river fish, with the roots and fine fruits which formed the
principal food of the Indians. Here first the Spaniards conquered
their repugnance to the guana, the favourite delicacy of the Indians,
but which the former had regarded with disgust, as a species of ser-
pent. The Adelantado, willing to accustom himself to the usages
of the country, was the first to taste of this animal, being kindly
pressed thereto by Anacaona. His followers imitated his example j

♦ P. Martyr, Decad. 1, L. 5.

884 UFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book XI.

they found it to be highly palatable and delicate, and from that time
forward the guana began to get into repute among Spanish epicures.*

The banquet being over, Don Bartholomew and six of his princi-
pal cavaliers were lodged in the dwelling of Behechio ; the rest were
distributed in the houses of the inferior caciques, where they slept in
hammocks of netted cotton, the usual beds of the natives.

For two days they remained with the hospitable Behechio, enter-
tained with various Indian games and festivities, among which the
most remarkable was the representation of a battle. Two squadrons
of naked Indians, armed v/ith bows and arrows, sallied suddenly into
the public square, and began to skirmish in a manner similar to the
Moorish play of canes, or tilting reeds. By degrees they became
excited, and fought with such earnestness, that four were slain and
many wounded ; which seemed to increase the interest and pleasure
of the spectators. The contest would have continued longer, and
might have been still more bloody, had not the Adelantado and the
other cavaliers interfered, and begged that the game might cease. t

When the festivities were over, and familiar intercourse had pro-
moted mutual confidence, the Adelantado addressed the cacique and
Anacaona, on the real object of his visit. He informed them that
his brother the admiral, had been sent to this island by the sovereigns
of Castile, who were great and mighty potentates, with many king-
doms under their sway. That the admiral had returned to apprize
his sovereigns how many tributary caciques there were in the island,
leaving him in command; and that he had come to receive Be-
hechio under the protection of these mighty sovereigns, and to ar-
range a tribute to be paid by him, in such manner as should be
most convenient and satisfactory to himself J

The cacique was greatly embarrassed by this demand, knowing
the sufferings that had been inflicted on the other parts of the island
by the avidity of the Spaniards for gold. He replied that he had
been apprized that gold was the great object for which the white
men had come to their island, and that a tribute was paid in it by

• These serpentes are lyke unto crocodiles saving in bygness, they call them gu-
anas. Unto that day none of owre men durste adventure to taste of them, by
reason of theyre horrible deformitie and loathsomness. Yet, the Adelantado, be
ing entysed by the pleasantness of the kynge's syster Anacaona, determined to
taste of the serpentes. But when he felte the fleshe thereof to be so ddlycate to
his tongue, he fel too amayne without a' feare. The which thing his companions
perceiving, were not behynde him in greedynesse, insomuche that they had now
none other talke than of the sweetenesse of these serpentes, which they affirm
to be of more pleasant taste than eyther owre phesantes or partreches. P. Martyr
Decad. 1, B. 5. Eden's Eng. trans.

t Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 1 14. } Idem.

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 385

some of his fellow caciques; but that in no part of his territories was
gold to be found, and his subjects hardly knew what it was. To
this the Adelantado replied, with great adroitness, that nothing was
further from the intention or wish of his sovereigns, than to require a
tribute in things not produced in his dominions, but that it might be
paid in cotton, hemp, and cassava bread, with which the surround-
ing country appeared to abound. The countenance of the cacique
brightened at this intimation, he promised cheerful compliance, and
instantly sent orders to all his subordinate caciques to sow abun-
dance of cotton for the first payment of the stipulated tribute.
Having made all the requisite arrangements, the Adelantado took
the most friendly leave of the worthy Behechio and his sister, and
set out for Isabella,

Thus by amicable and sagacious management, one of the most
extensive provinces of the island was brought into cheerful subjec-
tion; and, had not the wise policy of the Adelantado been defeated
by the excesses of worthless and turbulent men, a large revenue
might have been collected, without any recourse to violence or op-
pression. In all instances, these simple people appear to have been
extremely tractable, and meekly, and even cheerfully, to have re-
signed their rights to the white men, when treated with gentleness
and humanity.

CHAPTER n.

ESTABLISHMENT OF A CHAIN OF MILITARY POSTS INSURREC-
TION OF GUARIONEX, THE CACIQUE OF THE VEGA.

[1496.]

On arriving at Isabella, Don Bartholomew found it, as usual, a
scene of misery and repining. Many had died during his absence;
most were ill. Those w^ho were healthy complained of the scarcity
of food, and those who were ill, of the want of medicines. The pro-
visions which had been distributed among them fifom the supplies
brought out a few months before by Pedro Alonzo Nino, had been con-
sumed. The colonists, partly from sickness, and partly from repug-
nance to labour, had neglected to cultivate the surrounding country,
and the Indians, on whom they had chiefly depended, outraged by
Vol. I 25 2 H

386 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF FBook XI

their oppressions, had abandoned the vicinity, and fled to the moun-
tains; choosing rather to subsist on roots and herbs, in their rugged
retreats than remain in the luxuriant plains, subject to the wrongs
and cruelties of the white men. The history of this island presents
continual pictures of the miseries, the actual want, and poverty pro-
duced by the grasping avidity for gold. It had rendered the Span-
iards heedless of all the less obvious, but more certain and salubrious
sources of wealth. All labour seemed lost, that was to produce
profit by a circuitous process. Instead of cultivating the luxuriant
soil around them, and deriving real treasures from its surface, they
wasted their time in seeking for mines and golden streams, and were
starving in the midst of fertility.

No sooner were the provisions exhausted, which had been brought
out by Nino, than the colonists began to break forth in their accus-
tomed murmurs. They represented themselves as neglected by Co-
lumbus, who, amidst the blandishments and delights of a court,
thought little of their suiFerings. They considered themselves
equally forgotten by government; while, having no vessel in the
harbour, they were destitute of all means of sending home intelli-
gence of their disastrous situation, and of imploring relief.

To remove this last cause of discontent, and to furnish some ob-
ject for their hopes and thoughts to rally round, the Adelantado
ordered that two caravels should be built at Isabella, for the use of
the island. To relieve the settlement also from all useless and re-
pining individuals, during this time of scarcity, he distributed such
as were too ill to labour or to bear arms into the interior; where they
would have the benefit of a better climate, and more abundant sup-
ply of Indian provisions. He established, at the same time, a chain
of military posts between Isabella and the new port of St. Domingo.
They consisted of five fortified houses, each surrounded by its de-
pendent hamlet. The first of these was about nine leagues from
Isabella, and was called La Esperanza. Six leagues beyond, was
Santa Catarina. Four leagues and a half further, was Santiago,
and five leagues further, fort Conception; which was fortified with
great care, being at the foot of the golden mountains of Cibao, in
the vast and populous Vega, and within half a league of the resi-
dence of its cacique, Guarionex.* Having thus relieved Isabella of
all its useless population, and left none but such as were too ill to be
removed, or were required for the service and protection of the place,
and the construction of the'caravels, the Adelantado returned, with
a large body of the most effective men, to the fortress of St.
Domingo.

* P. Martyr, D. 1, L. 5.

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 38?

The military posts thus established, succeeded for a time in over-
awing the natives ; but fresh hostilities soon began to be manifested,
excited hy a different cause from the preceding. Among the mis-
sionaries who had accompanied father Boyle to the island, were
two friars, of far greater zeal than their superior. When he re-
turned to Spain, they remained behind, earnestly bent upon the ful-
filment of their mission. One was called Roman Pane, a poor her-
mit, as he styled himself, of the order of St. Geronimo; the other
was Juan Borgonon, a Franciscan. They resided for some time
among the Indians of the Vega, strenuously endeavouring to make
converts. They had succeeded with one family consisting of six-
teen persons ; the chief of which, on being baptized, had taken the
name of Juan Mateo. The conversion of the cacique Guarionex,
however, was the great object of their pious labours. The extent
and importance of his possessions, made his conversion of great con-
sequence to the interests of the colony ; and the zealous fathers con-
sidered it a means of bringing his numerous subjects under the do-
minion of the church. For some time the cacique lent a willing ear.
He learnt the Paternoster, the Ave Maria, and the Creed, and made
his whole family repeat them daily. The other caciques of the
Vega, and of the province of Cibao, however, reproached him and
scoffed at him, for meanly conforming to the laws and customs of
the strangers, who were usurpers of his possessions, and oppressors
«f his nation. The friars complained that, in consequence of these
evil communications, their fancied convert suddenly relapsed into
his infidelity; but another and more grievous cause is assigned for
his recantation. His favourite wife was seduced, or treated with
outrage, by one of the Spaniards of some authority ; and the indig-
nant cacique renounced all faith in a reUgion which, as he sup-
posed, admitted of such atrocities. Losing all hope of effecting
the conversion of Guarionex, the missionaries removed to the terri-
tories of another cacique, taking with them Juan Mateo, their In-
dian convert. Before their departure they erected a small chapel,
and furnished it with an altar, crucifix, and images, for the use of
the family of Mateo.

The friars had scarcely departed, when several Indians entered
the chapel, broke the images in pieces, trampled them under foot,
and buried them in a neighbouring field. This, it was said, was
done by order of Guarionex, in contempt of the holy religion from
which he had apostatized. A complaint of this enormity was car-
ried to the Adelantado, who ordered a process to be immediately in-
stituted, and those who were found culpable, to be punished accord-
ing to the law. It was a period of great rigour in ecclesiastical law,

388 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book XI.

especially among the Spaniards. In Spain all heresies in religion,
all recantations from the faith, and all acts of sacrilege, either by
Moor or Jew, were punished, with fire and fagot. Such was the
fate of the poor ignorant Indians, convicted of this outrage on the
church. It is questionable whether Guarionex had any hand in this
offence, and it is probable that the whole affair was exaggerated. A
proof of the credit due to the evidence brought forward, may be
judged by one of the facts recorded by Roman Pane, the " poor her-
mit." The field in which the holy images were buried, was planted,
he says, with certain roots shaped like a turnip, or radish, several
of which coming up in the neighbourhood of the images, were found
to have grown most miraculously in the form of a cross.*

The cruel punishment inflicted on these Indians, instead of daunt-
ing their countrymen, filled them with horror and indignation. They
had not been accustomed to such stern rule and vindictive justice ;
and having no clear ideas, or powerful sentiments, with respect to
religion of any kind, they could not comprehend the nature or ex-
tent of the crime committed. Even Guarionex, a man naturally
moderate and pacific, was highly incensed with the assumption of
power within his territories, and the inhuman death inflicted on his
subjects. The other caciques perceived his irritation, and endea-
voured to induce him to unite in a sudden insurrection, that by one
general and vigorous effort, they might break the yoke of their op-
pressors. Guarionex wavered for some time. He knew the martial
skill and prowess of the Spaniards. He stood in awe of their ca-
valry ; and he had before him the disastrous fate of Caonabo. But
he was rendered bold by despair, and he beheld in the domination
of these strangers the assured ruin of his race. The early writers
speak of a tradition current among the inhabitants of the island, res-
pecting this Guarionex. He was of an ancient line of hereditary
caciques. His father, in times long preceding the discovery, having
fasted for five days according to their superstitious observances, ap-
plied to his zemi, or household deity, for information of things to
come. He received for answer, that within a few years there should
come to the island a nation covered with clothing, which should
destroy all their customs and ceremonies, and should slay their chil-
dren, or reduce them to painful servitude.! This tradition was pro-
bably invented by the butios, or priests, of the Indians, after the ,
Spaniards had begun to exercise their severities. Whether their
prediction had an effect in disposing the mind of Guarionex to hos-
tilities against the strangers is uncertain. Some have asserted that

• Escritura de Fr. Roman. Hist, del Almirante. \ Peter Martyr, D. 1, L. ^

Chap. II.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 389

he was compelled to take up arms by the importunities of his sub-
jects, who still flattered themselves with the hope of success, and
threatened, in case of his refusal, to choose some other chieftain :
while others have alleged the outrage committed upon his favourite
wife, as the principal cause of irritation.* It was probably all these
things combined, which at length induced the unfortunate cacique
to listen to the counsels of his neighbouring chieftains, and to enter
into their conspiracy. A secret consultation was held among them,
wherein it was concerted, that on the day of payment of their quar-
terly tribute, when a great number could assemble without causing
suspicion, they should suddenly rise upon the Spaniards and mas-
sacre them.f

By some means the garrison at Fort Conception, received inti-
mation of this conspiracy. Being but a handful of men, and sur-
rounded by hostile tribes, they were alarmed for their safety. They
immediately dispatched an Indian messenger to the Adelantado, at
St. Domingo, begging immediate assistance. How to get this let-
ter to his hands was an anxious question ; their safety depended
upon it. The Indian messenger might be intercepted, and the letter
taken from him, for the natives had discovered that these letters had
a wonderful power of communicating intelligence, and fancied that
they could talk. The letter was therefore enclosed in a reed, which
the messenger used as a staff. He was, in fact, intercepted, but af-
fected to be dumb and lame. He spoke only by signs, intimating
that he was returning to his home, and leaning on his staff, limped
along with extreme difficulty. He was suffered to depart, apd
dragged himself feebly forward until out of sight, when he resumed
his speed, and bore the letter safely and expeditiously to St. Do-
mingo. J:

The Adelantado, with his characteristic promptness and activity,
immediately set out with a body of troops for the fortress; and
though his men were much enfeebled by scanty fare, hard service,
and long marches, he hurried them rapidly forward. Never did aid
arrive more opportunely. The Indians were already assembled in
the plain, to the amount of many thousands, armed after their man-
ner, and waiting for the appointed time to strike the blow. After
consulting with the commander of the fortress, and the other princi-
pal officers, the Adelantado concerted his mode of proceedirig. As-
certaining the places in which the various caciques had distributed
their forces, he appointed an officer with a body of men to each

* Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 121.

t Herrera, D. 1, L. 3, C 5. P. Martyr, D, 1, L. 5,

t Herrera, Hist. Ind. D. 1, L. 3, C. 6. o tr «

4 sii 2

390 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book XL

cacique, with orders at an appointed hour of the night to rush sud-
denly into the villages where they were sleeping, to surprise them
unarmed and unsuspecting, and to bind the caciques and bring them
off prisoners, before their subjects could assemble for their defence.
As Guarionex was the most important personage, and his capture
would probably be attended with most difficulty and danger, the
Adelantado took the charge of it upon himself, at the' head of one
hundred men.

This sagacious stratagem, founded upon a knowledge of the at-
tachment of the Indians to their chieftains, and calculated to spare a
great effusion of bloody was completely successful The villages,
having no walls, nor other defences, were quietly entered at midnight,
and the Spaniards, rushing suddenly into the houses where the
caciques were quartered, seized and bound them, to the number of
fourteen, and hurried them off prisoners to the fortress, before any
effort could be made for their defence or rescue. The Indians, struck
with terror and confusion, made no resistance, nor any show of hos-
tility ; surrounding the fortress in great multitudes, but without
weapons, they filled the air with doleful bowlings and lamentations,,
imploring the release of their chieftains. The Adelantado completed
his enterprise with the spirit, sagacity and moderation with which
he had hitherto conducted it. He obtained information of the causes
which had led to this conspiracjT-, and of the individuals who had
been most culpable. Two of the caciques, the principal movers of
the insurrection, and who had most wrought upon the easy nature
of Guarionex, were put to death. As to that unfortunate cacique,
the Adelantado ascertained the deep wrongs he had suffered, and
the slowness with which he had been provoked to revenge. He
magnanimously pardoned him : nay, according to Las Casas, he
proceeded with stern justice against the Spaniard, whose outrage on
the wife of the cacique had sunk so deeply in his heart. The Ade-
lantado extended his lenity also to the remaining chieftains of the
conspiracy. Apprehensive that severe measures might incense their
subjects, or drive them to despondency, and induce them to abandon
the Vega, he held forth to them promises of great favours and re-
wards, if they should continue firm in their loyalty ; but terrible pu-
nishments, should they again be found in rebellion. The heart of
Guarionex was subdued by the unexpected clemency of the Adelan-
tado. He made a speech to his people, setting forth the irresistible
might and valour of the Spaniards ; their great lenity to offenders,
and their generosity to such as were faithful; and he earnestly ex-
horted them henceforth to cultivate their friendship. The Indians
listened to him with attention ; his praises of the white men werQ

Chap. III.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 391

confirmed in their minds by this great instance of moderation on the
part of the Adelantado. When their cacique had concluded, they
took him up with transport on their shoulders, bore hira to his habita-
tion with songs and shouts of joy, and for some time the tranquillity
of the Vega was restored.*

CHAPTER III

THE ADELANTADO REPAIRS TO XARAGUA TO RECEIVE TRIBUTE,

[ 1497. ]

With all his energy and discretion, the Adelantado found it difiicult
to manage the proud and turbulent spirits of the Spanish colonists.
Their discontents, and their impatience of any salutary rule in-
creased day by day. They could ill brook the rigorous sway of a
foreigner, who, when they attempted to be restive, curbed them with
a firm and iron hand. Don Bartholomew had not the same legiti-
mate authority in their eyes, as his brother. The splendid reputation
of the admiral gave dignity and grandeur to his name. He was the
discoverer of the country, and the authorized representative of the
sovereigns ; yet even him they with difficulty brought themselves to
obey. The Adelantado, however, was regarded by many of them
as a mere intruder, shouldering himself into power on the merits and
services of his brother, and possessing no authority from the crown
for such high command. They spoke with impatience and indigna-
tion of the long absence of the admiral, and of his fancied inattention
to their wants; little aware of the incessant anxieties he was suffer-
ing on their account, during his detention in Spain. The sagacious
measure of the Adelantado, in building the caravels, for some time
diverted their attention. They watched their progress with solicitude,
looking upon them as a means either of obtaining relief, or of aban-
doning the island. Don Bartholomew was aware that repining and
discontented men should never be left in idleness. He sought con-
tinual means of keeping them in movement ; and indeed a state of
constant activity was congenial to his own vigorous spirit. About
this time, messengers arrived from Behechio, cacique of Xaragua,
informing him that he had large quantities of cotton, and other

* P. Martyr, D. 1, L. 5. Herrera, H. Ind. D. 1, L. 3, C. a

892 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book XI.

articles, in which his tribute was to be paid, ready for delivery. The
Adelantado immediately summoned a numerous train, who gladly
set forth with him to revisit this fruitful and happy region. They
were again received with songs and dances, and all the national
demonstrations of respect and amity, by Behechio and his sister Ana-
caona. The latter appeared to be highly popular among the natives,
and to have almost as much sway in Xaragua as her brother. Her
natural ease, and the graceful dignity of her manners, more and more
won the admiration of the Spaniards.

The Adelantado found thirty-two inferior caciques assembled in
the house of Behechio, awaiting his arrival, with their respective
tributes. The cotton which they had brought amounted to so great
a quantity, as to fill one of their houses : having delivered this, they
gratuitously offered the Adelantado to give him as much cassava
bread as he desired. The offer was most acceptable, in the present
necessitous state of the colony ; and Don Bartholomew sent to Isa-
bella, for one of the caravels, which was nearly finished, to be dis-
patched as soon as possible to Xaragua, to be freighted with bread
and cotton.

In the meantime, the utmost kindness was lavished on the Span-
iards by these gentle and generous people ; they brought from all
quarters large supplies of provisions, and they entertained their guests
with continual festivity and banqueting. The early Spanish writers,
whose imaginations were heated by the accounts of the voyagers,
and who could not form an idea of the simplicity of savage life,
especially in these newly discovered countries which were supposed
to border upon Asia, often speak in terms of oriental magnificen^'-eof
the entertainments of the natives, the palaces of the caciques, and
the lords and ladies of their courts ; as if they were describing the
abodes of Asiatic potentates, The accounts given of Xaragua, how-
ever, have a different character ; and give a picture of savage life, in
its perfection of idle and ignorant enjoyment. The troubles which
distracted the other parts of devoted Hayti, had not yet reached the
inhabitants of this pleasant region. Living among beautiful and
fruitful groves, on the borders of a sea which appeared for ever tran-
quil and unvexed by storms ; having few wants, and those readily
supplied, they appeared emancipated from the common lot of labour,
and to pass their lives in one uninterrupted holy-day. When the
Spaniards regarded the fertility and sweetness of this country, the
gentleness of its people, and the beauty of its women, they pronounc-
ed it a perfect paradise.

At length the caravel arrived which was to be freighted with the
articles of tribute. It anchored about six miles distant from the resi-

Chap. HI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS- 393

dence of Behechio, and Anacaona proposed to her brother that thej^
should go together, to behold what she called the great canoe of the
white men. On their waj to the coast, the Adelantado was lodged
one night in a village, in a house where Anacaona treasured up all
those articles which she esteemed most rare and precious. They
consisted of various manufactures of cotton ingeniously wrought ;
of vessels of clay moulded into different forms ; of chairs, tables, and
other articles of furniture, formed of ebony and other kinds of wood,
carved with various devices, all evincing great skill and ingenuity,
in a people who had no iron tools to work with. Such were the
simple treasures of ^this Indian princess, of which she generously
made numerous presents to her guest.

Nothing could exceed the wonder and delight of this intelligent
woman, when she first beheld the ship. Her brother, who treated
her with a fraternal fondness, and respectful attention worthy of
civilized life, had prepared two canoes, gaily painted and decorated;
one to convey her and her attendants, and the other for himself and
his chieftains, Anacaona, however, preferred to embark, with her
attendants, in the ship's boat, with the Adelantado. As they ap-
proached the caravel, the cannon fired a salute. At the sound of this
sudden thunder, and the sight of volumes of smoke, bursting from the
sides of the ship, and rolling along the sea, Anacaona, overcome
with dismay, fell into the arms of the Adelantado, and her attend-
ants would have leapt overboard in their affright. The laughter
and the cheerful words of Don Bartholomew, however, speedily
reassured them. As they drev/ nearer to the vessel, several instru-
ments of martial music struck up, with which they were greatly
delighted. Their admiration increased on entering on board of the
caravel. Accustomed only to their simple and slight canoes, every
thing here appeared to be prodigiously strong and complicated, and
on a wonderfully vast scale. But when the anchor was weighed,
the sails were spread, and, aided by a gentle breeze, they beheld this
vast mass, moving as it were by its own volition, veering from side
to side, and playing like a huge monster on the deep, the brother and
sister remained gazing at each other in mute astonishment.* No-
thing seems to have filled the mind of the most stoical savage with
more wonder, than that sublime and beautiful triumph of human
genius, a ship under sail.

Having freighted and dispatched the caravel, the Adelantado
made many presents to Behechio, his sister, and their attendants, and
took leave of them, to return by land, with his troops, to Isabella,

* P. Martyr, D. 1, L. 5. Herrera, D. 1, Lib. 3, C. 6.

394 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book XL

Anacaona showed great affliction at their parting, entreating him to
remain some time longer with them, and appearing fearful that they
had failed in their humble attempts to please him. She even offered
to follow him to the settlement, nor would she be consoled until he
had promised to return again to Xaragua.*

It is impossible not to be struck with the great ability shown by
the Adelantado in the course of his transient government of the
island. Wonderfully alert and active, he made repeated marches of
great extent, from one remote province to another, and was always
at the post of danger at the critical moment. By skilful manage-
ment he had, with a handful of men, defeated a formidable insur-
rection, without any effusion of blood. He had conciliated the most
inveterate enemies among the natives, by his great moderation, while
he deterred all wanton hostilities by the infliction of signal punish-
ments. He had made firm friends of the most important chieftains,
brought their dominions under cheerful tribute, opened new sources
of supplies for the colony ; and procured relief for its immediate
wants. Had his judicious measures been seconded by those under
is command, the whole country would have been a scene of tran-
quil prosperity, and would have produced great revenues to the
crown, without cruelty to the natives; but, like his brother the ad-
miral, his good intentions, and judicious arrangements were con-
stantly thwarted by the vile passions, and perverse conduct of others.
While he was absent from Isabella, new mischiefs had been fomented
there, which were soon to throw the whole island into confusion.

CHAPTER IV.

CONSPIRACY OF ROLDAN.

[1497.]

The prime mover of the present mischief in the colony was one
Francisco Roldan, a man who was under the deepest obligations to
the admiral. Raised by him from poverty and obscurity, he had
been employed at first in menial capacities; but, showing strong
natural talents, and great elssiduity, he had been made ordinary
alcalde, equivalent to justice of the peace. The able manner in

• Ramusio, V. 3, p. 9.

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 395

which he had acquitted himself in this situation, and the persuasion
of his great fidelity and gratitude, had induced Columbus, on de-
parting for Spain, to appoint him alcalde mayor, or chief judge of
the island. It is true he was an uneducated man, but, as there were
as yet no intricacies of law in the colony, the office required little
else than shrewd good sense, and upright principles, for its dis-
charge.*

Roldan was one of those base spirits which grow venomous in
the sunshine of prosperity. He had seen his benefactor return to
Spain apparently under a cloud of disgrace ; a long interval had
elapsed without any tidings from him; he considered him a fallen
man, and began to devise how he might profit by his downfal. He
was intrusted with an office inferior only to that of the Adelantado;
the brothers of Columbus were highly unpopular ; he imagined it
possible to ruin them, both with the colonists and with the govern-
ment at home, and by dexterous cunning and bustling activity, to
work his way into the command of the colony. The vigorous and
somewhat austere character of the Adelantado for some time kept
him in awe ; but when he was absent from the settlement, Roldan
was able to carry on his machinations with confidence. Don
Diego, who then commanded at Isabella, was an upright and worthy
man, but deficient in energy. Roldan felt himself his superior in
jtalent and spirit, and his self-conceit was wounded at being inferior
to him in authority. He soon made a party among the daring and
dissolute of the community, and secretly loosened the ties of order
and good government, by listening to and encouraging the discon-
tents of the common people, and directing them against the character
and conduct of Columbus and his brothers. He had heretofore
been employed as superintendent of various public works ; this had
brought him into habits of familiar communication with workmen,
sailors and others of the lower order. His originally vulgar cha-
racter enabled him to adapt himself to their intellects and manners,
while his present station gave him consequence in their eyes. Find-
ing them full of murmurs about hard treatment, severe toil, and the
long absence of the admiral, he affected to be moved by their dis-
tresses. He threw out suggestions that the admiral might never
return, being disgraced and ruined, in consequence of the representa-
tions of Aguado. He sympathized with the hard treatment they
experienced from the Adelantado and his brother Don Diego, who
being foreigners could take no interest in their welfare, nor feel a
proper respect for the pride of a Spaniard; but who used them

»Herrera,D.l,L. 3,C. 1.

396 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF rBooK XI.

merely as slaves, to build houses and fortresses for them, or to swell
their state, and secure their power, as thej marched about the island,
enriching themselves with the spoils of the caciques. By this
means he exasperated their feelings to such a height, that it is said
they had at one time formed a conspiracy to take away the life of
the Adelantado by way of delivering themselves from an odious
tyrant. The time and place for the perpetration of the act were
concerted. The Adelantado had condemned to death a Spaniard
of the name of Berahona, a friend of Roldan, and of several of the
conspirators. What was his offence is not precisely stated, but from
a passage in Las Casas,* there is reason to believe that he was the
very Spaniard who had violated the favourite wife of Guarionex,
the cacique of the Vega. The Adelantado would be present at the
execution. It was arranged, therefore, that when the populace
were assembled, a tumult should be made as if by accident, and in
the confusion of the moment Don Bartholomew should be dispatched
with a poniard. Fortunately for the Adelantado, he pardoned the
criminal, the assemblage did not take place, and the plan of the
conspirators was disconcerted, f

When Don Bartholomew was absent collecting the tribute in
Xaragua, Roldan thought that it was a favourable time to bring
affairs to a crisis. He had sounded the feehngs of the colonists,
and ascertained that there was a large party disposed for open sedi-
tion. His plan was to create a popular tumult ; to interpose in his
official character of alcalde mayor, to throw the blame upon the
oppression and injustice of Don Diego and his brother, and while
he usurped the reins of authority, to appear as if actuated only by
zeal for the peace and prosperity of the islands, and the interests
of the sovereigns.

A pretext soon presented itself/for the proposed tumult. When the
caravel returned from Xaragua, laden with the Indian tributes, and
the cargo was discharged, Don Diego had the vessel drawn up on
the land, to protect it from accidents, or from any sinister designs
of the disaffected colonists. Roldan immediately pointed this cir-
cumstance out to his partizans. He secretly inveighed against the
hajdship of having this vessel drawn on shore, instead of being left
afloat for the benefit of the colony, or sent to Spain to make known
their distresses. He hinted that the true reason was the fear of the
Adelantado and his brother, lest accounts should be carried to Spain
of their misconduct; and he affirmed that they wished to remain
undisturbed masters of the island, and keep the Spaniards there as

* Las Casas, Hist. Ind. MS. L. 1, C. 118. t Hist, del Almirante, C. 73.

Chap. IV.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS 397

subjects, or rather as slaves. The people took fire at these sugges-
tions. They had long looked forward to the completion of the
caravels as their only chance for relief; they now became openly
clamorous and insisted that the vessel should be launched, and sent
to Spain for supplies. Don Diego endeavoured to convince them
of the folly of their demand, the vessel not being rigged and equipped
for such a voyage ; but the more he attempted to pacify them by
fair words the more unreasonable and turbulent they became.
Roldan, also, became more bold and explicit in his instigations. He
advised them to launch and take possession of the caravel, as the
only mode of regaining their independence. They might then
throw off the tyranny of these upstart strangers, enemies in their
hearts to the Spaniards, and might lead a life of ease and pleasure;
sharing equally all that they might gain by barter in the island;
employing the Indians as slaves to work for them and enjoying
unrestrained indulgence with respect to the Indian women.*

Don Diego received intimation of what was fermenting among
the people, and of the dangerous intrigues of Roldan, yet he feared
to come to an open rupture, in the present mutinous state of the
colony. He suddenly detached him therefore, with forty men, to the
Vega, under pretext of overawing certain of the natives, who had
refused to pay their tribute, and had shown a disposition to revolt,
Roldan made use of this opportunity to strengthen his faction. He
made friends and partizans among the discontented caciques; secretly
justifying them in their resistance to the imposition of tribute, and
promising them redress. He secured the devotion of his own soldiers
by great acts of indulgence, disarming and dismissing such as refused
full participation in his plans, and returned with his little band to
Isabella, where he felt secure of a strong party among the commoQ
people.

The Adelantado had by this time returned from Xaragua; but
Roldan, feeling himself at the head of a strong faction, and arrogat-
ing to himself great authority from his official station, now openly
demanded that the caravel should be launched, or license given to
himself and his followers to launch it. The Adelantado, peremp-
torily refused ; observing that neither he nor his companions were
mariners, nor was the caravel furnished and equipped for sea; and
that neither the safety of the vessel, or of the people, should be endan-
geredby their attempt to navigate her.

Roldan perceived that his motives were suspected, and felt that
the Adelantado was too formidable an adversary to contend with, in

Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 73. -

398 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book XI.

any open sedition, at Isabella, He determined, therefore, to carry
his plans into operation in some more favourable part of the island;
always trusting to excuse any open rebellion against the authority
of Don Bartholomew, by representing it as a patriotic opposition to
his tyranny over Spaniards. He had seventy well armed and
determined men under his command, and he trusted, on erecting his
standard, to be joined by all the disaffected throughout the island.
He set off suddenly, therefore, for the Vega; intending to surprise
tlie fortress of Conception, and by getting command of that post, and
the rich country adjacent, to set the Adelantado at defiance.

He stopped, on his way, at various Indian villages, in which the
Spaniards were distributed, endeavouring to enlist the latter in his
party by holding out promises of great gain and free living. He
attempted also to seduce the natives from their allegiance, by promis-
ing them freedom from all tribute. Those caciques with whom he
had maintained a previous understanding, received him with open
arms, particularly one who had taken the name of Diego Marque,
whose village he made his head-quarters, being about two leagues
from fort Conception. He was disappointed in his hopes of sur-
prising the fortress. Its commander, Miguel Ballester, was an old
and staunch soldier, both resolute and wary. He drew himself
into his strong hold, on the approach of Roldan, and closed his gates.
His garrison was small, but the fortification, situated on the side of a
hill, with a river running at its foot, was proof against any assault.
Roldan had still some hopes that Ballester might be disaffected to
government, and might be gradually brought into his plans ; or that
the garrison would be disposed to desert, tempted by the licentious
life which he permitted among his followers. In the neighbourhood
was the town inhabited by Guarionex. Here were quartered thirty
soldiers, under the command of captain Garcia de Barrantes. Rol-
dan repaired thither with his armed force, hoping to enlist Barrantes
and his party ; but the captain shut himself up with his men in a
fortified house, refusing to permit them to hold any communication
with Roldan. The latter threatened to set fire to the house ; but,
after a little consideration, contented himself with seizing their store
of provisions, and then marched towards fort Conception, which
was not quite half a league distant.*

* Herrera, Decad. 1, L. 3, C. 7. Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 74.

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS.

CHAPTER V.

THE ADELANTA.DO REPAIRS TO THE VEGA IN RELIEF OF FORT
CONCEPTION HIS INTERVIEW WITH ROLDAN.

[1497.]

The Adelantado had received intelligence of the flagitious proceed-
ings of Roldan ; jet for a time he hesitated to set out in pursuit of
him. He had lost all confidence in the loyalty of the people around
him ; he knew not how far the conspiracy extended, nor on whom
he could rely. Diego de Escobar, alcayde of the fortress of La
Madalenci, together with Adrian de Moxica and Pedro de Valdivieso,
all principal men, were in league with Roldan. He feared that the
commander of fort Conception might likewise be in the plot, and
the whole island in arms against him. He was reassured, however,
by tidings from Miguel Ballester. That loyal veteran wrote to him
pressing letters for succour, representing the weakness of his garri-
son, and the increasing forces of the rebels.

Don Bartholomew now hastened to his assistance, with his ac-
customed promptness, and threw himself with a reinforcement into
the fortress. Being ignorant of the force of the rebels, and doubt-
ful of the loyality of his own followers, he determined to adopt
mild measures. Understanding that Roldan was quartered at a
village but half a league distant, he sent a messenger to him, re-
monstrating on the flagrant irregularity of his conduct, the injury
it was calculated to produce in the island, and the certain ruin it must
bring upon himself He summoned him to appear at the fortress,
pledging his word for his personal safety. Roldan repaired accord-
ingly to* fort Conception, where the Adelantado held a parley with
him from a window, demanding the reason of his appearing in arms
in opposition to royal authority. Roldan replied hardily, that he
was in the service of his sovereigns, defending their subjects from
the oppressions of men who sought their destruction. The Adelan-
tado ordered him to surrender his staff of oflice, as alcalde mayor,
and to submit peaceably to superior authority. Roldan refused to
resign his office, or to put himself in the power of Don Bartholo-
mew, whom he charged with seeking his life. He refused also to

400

LIFE AND VOYAGES OP

[Book XI.

submit to any trial, unless commanded by the king. Pretending,
however, to make no resistance to the peaceable exercise of authority,
he offered to go with his followers, and reside at any place the Ade-
lantado might appoint. The latter immediately designated the vil-
lage of the cacique Diego Colon, the same native of the Lucayos
islands who had been baptized in Spain, and had since married a
daughter of Guarionex. Roldan objected; pretending that there
were not sufficient provisions to be had there for the subsistence of
his men, and departed, declaring that he would seek a more eligible
residence elsewhere.*

He now proposed to his followers to take possession of the remote
province of Xaragua. The Spaniards who had returned from
thence, had given voluptuous accounts of the life they had led there;
of the fertility of the soil, the sweetness of the climate, the hospi-
tality and gentleness of the people, their feasts, dances, and various
amusements, and above all, the beavity of the women ; for they had
been captivated by the naked charms of the dancing nymphs of
Xaragua. In this delightful region, emancipated from the iron rule
of the Adelantado, and relieved from the necessity of irksome
labour, they might lead a life of perfect freedom and indulgence,
and have a world of beauty at their command. In short, Roldan
drew a picture of loose sensual enjoyment, such as he knew to be
irresistible with men of idle dissolute habits. His followers acceded
with joy to his proposition ; some preparations, however, were neces-
sary to carry it into eiFect. Taking advantage of the ateence of
the Adelantado, he suddenly marched off with his band to Isabella,
nnd entering it in a manner by surprise, endeavoured to launch the
caravel, with which they might sail to Xaragua. Don Diego Co-
lumbus hearing the tumult, issued forth with several persons of dis-
tinction; but such was the force of the mutineers, and their
menacing conduct, that he was obliged to withdraw, with a number
of his faithful adherents, into the fortress. Roldan had several par-
leys with him, and offered to submit to his command, provided he
would set himself up in opposition to his brother the Adelantado.
His proposition was treated with scorn. The fortress was too strong
to be assailed with success, he found it impossible to launch the
caravel, and feared the Adelantado might return, and he be enclosed
between two forces. He proceeded, therefore, in all haste, to make
provisions for the proposed expedition to Xaragua. Still pretending to
act in his official capacity, and to do every thing from loyal motives
for the protection and support of the oppressed subjects of the crown,

* Herrera D. 1 L. 3, C. 7. Hist, del Almirante, Cap. 74.

Chap. V.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. ^01

he broke open the royal warehouse, with shouts of " Long live the
king !" supplied his followers with arms, ammunition, clothing, and
whatever they desired from the public stores ; proceeded to the enclo-
sure where the cattle and other European animals were kept to breed ;
took whatever he thought necessary for his intended establishment ;
and permitted his followers to kill such of the remaining cattle as
they might want for present supply. Having committed this waste-
ful ravage, he marched in triumph out of Isabella.* Reflecting,
however, on the prompt and vigorous character of the Adelantado,
he felt that his situation would be but little secure with such an ac-
tive enemy behind him ; who, on extricating himself from present
perplexities, would not fail to pursue him to his proposed paradise
of Xaragua. He determined, therefore, to march again to the
Vega, and endeavour either to get possession of the person of the
Adelantado, or to strike some blow at him, in his present crippled
state, that should disable him from yielding future molestation. Re-
turning, therefore, to the vicinity of fort Conception, he endeavoured
in every way, by the means of subtle emissaries, to seduce the gar-
rison to desertion, or to stir it up to revolt.

The Adelantado had ample information of the machinations of
the enemy, and of his own personal danger. He dared not take the
field with his forces, having no confidence in their fidelity. He
knew that they listened wistfully to the emissaries of Roldan, and
contrasted the meagre fare and stern discipline of the garrison, with
the abundant cheer and easy misrule that prevailed among the re-
bels. To counteract these seductions, he relaxed from his usual
strictness, treating his men with great indulgence, and promising
them large rewards. By these means he was enabled to maintain
some degree of loyalty among his forces, his service having the ad-
vantage over that of Roldan, of being on the side of government and
law.

Finding that his attempts to corrupt the garrison were unsuccess-
ful, and fearing some sudden sally from the vigorous Adelantado,
Roldan drew off to a distance, and sought by all insidious means to
strengthen his own power, and weaken that of the government.
He asserted equal right to manage the affairs of the island with the
Adelantado, and pretended to have separated from^ him on account
of his being passionate and vindictive in the exercise of his authority.
He represented him as the tyrant of the Spaniards, the oppressor of
the Indians. For himself, he assumed the character of a redresser
of grievances, and champion of the injured. He pretended to feel a

* Hist del Almirante, Cap. 74. Herrera, D. 1, L. 3, C. 7.

Vol. I. 26 2 12

402 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book XL

patriotic indignation at the indignities heaped upon Spaniards by a
family of obscure and arrogant foreigners ; and professed to free the
natives from tributes wrung from them by these rapacious men, for
their own enrichment, and contrary to the beneficent intentions of
the Spanish monarchs. He connected himself closely with the
Carib cacique Manieaotex, brother of the late Caonabo^ whose son
and nephew were in his possession as hostages for payment of
tribute. This warlike chieftain he conciliated by presents and ca-
resses, bestowing on him the appellation of brother.* In fact, the
unhappy natives, deceived by his professions, and overjoyed at the
idea of having a protector in arms for their defence, submitted cheer-
fully to a thousand impositions, supplying his followers with pro-
visions in abundance, and bringing to Roldan all the gold they
could collect; voluntarily yielding him heavier tributes than those
from which he pretended to free them.

The affairs of the island were now in a lamentable situation.
The Indians, perceiving the dissensions among the white men, and
encouraged by the protection of Roldan, began to throw off all alle-
giance to the government. The caciques at a distance ceased to send
in their tributes ; and those who were near by, were excused by the
Adelantado, that, by indulgence, he might retain their friendship in
this time of danger. Roldan's faction daily gained strength; they
ranged insolently and at large in the open country, cherished by the
misguided natives, while the Spaniards who remained loyal, fearing
conspiracies among the natives, had to keep under shelter of the
fort, or in the strong houses which they had erected in the villages.
The commanders were obliged to palliate all kinds of slights and in--
dignities, both from their soldiers and from the Indians, fearful of
driving them to sedition by any severity. The clothing, and muni-
tions of all kind, either for maintenance or defence, were rapidly
wasting away, and the want of all supplies or tidings from Spain,
was sinking the spirits of the well affected into despondency. The
Adelantado was shut up in fort Conception, in daily expectation of
being openly besieged by Roldan, and secretly informed that means
were taken to destroy him, should he issue from the walls of the
fortress, t

Such was the desperate state to which the colony was reduced,
in consequence of the long detention of Columbus in Spain, and the
impediments thrown in the way of all his measures for the benefit of
the island, by the delays of cabinets and the chicanery of Fonseca
and his satellites. At this critical juncture, when faction reigned

* Las Casas, Hist. Ind. L. 1, C. 118.
i Idem, Lib. 1, Cap. 119.

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 403

triumphant, and the colony was on the brink of ruin, tidings were
brought to the Vega that Pedro Fernandez Coronal had arrived at
the port of San Domingo, with two ships, bringing supplies of all
kinds, and a strong reinforcement of troops.*

CHAPTER VI.

SECOND INSURRECTION OF GUARIONEX, AND FLIGHT TO THE
MOUNTAINS OF CIGUAY.

[1498.]

The arrival of Coronal took place on the third of February, and
was the salvation of the colony. The reinforcement of troops and
the supplies of all kinds strengthened the hands of Don Bartholo-
mew. The royal confirmation of his title and authority as Adelan-
tado at once dispelled all aspersions as to the legitimacy of his power,
and confirmed the fidelity of his adherents; and the tidings that the
admiral was in high favour at court, and would soon arrive with a
powerful squadron, struck consternation into those who had entered
into the rebellion on the presumption of his having fallen into dis-
grace.

The Adelantado no longer remained mewed up in his fortress, but
set out immediately for San Domingo, with a part of his troops,
although a very superior rebel force was at the village of the ca-
cique Guarionex, at a very short distance. Roldan followed slowly
and gloomily with his party, anxious to ascertain the truth of these
tidings, to make partizans if possible among those who had newly
arrived; and to take advantage of every circumstance that might
befriend his rash and hazardous fortunes. Tho Adelantado left
strong guards on the passes of the roads to prevent his near ap-
proach to San Domingo, but Roldan paused within a few leagues
of the place.

When the Adelantado found himself secure in San Domingo with
this augmentation of force, and the prospect of a still greater rein-
forcement at hand, his magnanimity prevailed over his indignation,
and he sought by gentle means to allay the popular seditions, that
the island might be restored to tranquillity before his brother's ar

Las Casas. Herrera. Hist, del Almirante.

404 LIFE AND VOYAGES OF fBooK XI.

rival. He considered that the colonists had suffered greatly from
the want of supplies ; that their discontents had been quickened by
the severities he had been compelled to inflict ; and that many had
been led to rebellion by doubts of the legitimacy of his authority.
While, therefore, he proclaimed the royal act sanctioning his title
and powers, he promised also amnesty for all past offences on condi-
tion of immediate return to allegiance. Hearing that Roldan was
within five leagues of San Domingo with his band, he sent Pedro
Fernandez Coronal, who had been appointed by the sovereigns al-
guazil mayor of the island, to exhort him to obedience, promising
him oblivion of the past. He trusted that the representations of a
discreet and honourable man like Coronal, who had been witness of
the favour in which his brother stood in Spain, would convince the
rebels of the hopelessness of their cause.

Roldan, however, conscious of his guilt and doubtful of the cle-
mency of Don Bartholomew, feared to venture within his power ;
he determined, also, to prevent his followers from communicating
with Coronal, lest they should be seduced from him by the promise
of pardon. When that emissary therefore approached the encamp-
ment of the rebels, he was opposed in a naiTow pass by a body of
archers, with their crossbows levelled. " Halt there ! traitor !" cried
Roldan, " had you arrived eight days later we should all have been
united as one man."*

It was in vain that Coronal endeavoured by fair reasoning and
earnest entreaty to win this perverse and turbulent man from his
career. Roldan answered with hardihood and defiance ; professing
to oppose only the tyranny and misrule of the Adelantado, but to be
ready to submit to the admiral on his arrival. He and several of his
principal confederates wrote letters to the same effect to their friends
in San Domingo, urging them to plead their cause with the admiral
when he should arrive, and to assure him of their disposition to ac-
knowledge his authority.

When Coronal returned with accounts of Rondal's contumacy,
the Adelantado proclaimed him and his followers traitors. That
shrewd rebel, however, did not suffer his men to remain within either
the seduction of promise or the terror of menace ; he immediately
set out on his march for his promised land of Xaragua, trusting in
its soft witcheries to dissolve every honest principle and virtuous tie
of his misguided followers, by a life of indolence and libertinage.

In the meantime the mischievous effects of his intrigues among
the caciques became more and more apparent. No sooner had the

Herrera, D. 1, L. 3, C. 8.

Chap. VI.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 405

Adelantado left fort Conception than a conspiracy was formed
among the natives to surprise it. Guarionex was at the head of
this conspiracy, moved by the instigations of Roldan, who had pro-
mised him protection and assistance ; and led on by the forlorn hope,
in this distracted state of the Spanish forces, to relieve his paternal
domains from the intolerable domination of usurping strangers.
Holding secret communications with his tributary caciques it was
concerted that they should all rise simultaneously upon the soldiery
who were quartered in small parties in their villages, and should put
them to death ; while he with a chosen force should surprise the for-
tress of Conception in the present weak state of the garrison. As
the Indians might make a mistake in the appointed time, the night
of the full moon was fixed upon for the insurrection.

One of the principal caciques, however, not being a correct ob-
server of the heavenly bodies, took up arms before the appointed
night. He was repulsed by the soldiers quartered in his village.
The alarm was given, and the Spaniards were all put upon the
alert. The cacique fled to Guarionex for protection, but the chief-
tain, full of indignation and despair, put him to death upon the spot.

No sooner did the Adelantado hear of this fresh conspiracy than
he again put himself on the march for the Vega, with a strong
body of men. Guarionex did not await his coming. He saw that
every attempt was fruitless to shake off these strangers, who had
settled like a curse upon his territories. He had found their very
friendship withering and destructive, and he now dreaded their ven-
geance. Abandoning, therefore, his rightful and beautiful domain,
the once happy Vega, he fled with his family and a small band of
faithful followers to the mountains of Ciguay. This is a lofty .
chain, extending along the north side of the island, between the
Vega and the sea. The inhabitants were the most robust and
hardy tribe of the island, and far more formidable than the mild
inhabitants of the plains. It was a part of this tribe which dis-
played hostility to the Spaniards in the course of the first voy-
age of Columbus, and in a skirmish with them in the gulf of
Samana, the first drop of native blood had been shfed in the New
World. The reader may remember the frank and confiding con-
duct of these people, the day after the skirmish, and tlio intrepid
faith with which their cacique trusted himself on board of the cara-
vel of the admiral, and in the power of the Spaniards, It was to
this same cacique, 'named Mayobanex, that the fugitive chieftain
of the Vega now applied for refuge. He came to his residence at an
Indian town, near Cape Cabron, about ten leagues west of Isabella,
and implored shelter for his wife and children, and his handful of
loyal followers, The noble minded cacique of the mountains re-

406 UFE AND VOYAGES OF [Book XI

ceived him with open arms. He not only gave an asylum to his
familj^, but he pledged himself to stand by him in distress, to defend
his cause, and share his desperate fortunes.* Men in civilized lifo
learn magnanimity from precept, but their most generous actions are
often rivalled by the deeds of untutored savages, who act only from
natural impulse.

CHAPTER Vn.

CAMPAIGN OF THE ADELANTADO IN THE MOUNTAINS OF CIGTTAY.

[1498.]

Aided by his mountain ally, and by bands of hardy Ciguayans,
Guarionex made several descents into the plain, cutting off strag-
gling parties of the Spaniards, laying waste the villages of the na-
tives who continued in allegiance to them, and destroying the fruits
of the earth. The arrival of the Adelantado put a stop to these mo-
lestations, but he determined to root out so formidable an adversary
from the neighbourhood. Shrinking from no danger nor fatigue,
and leaving nothing to be done by others which he could do himself,
he set forth in the spring with a band of ninety men, a few cavalry,
and a body of Indians, to penetrate among the wild fastnesses of the
Ciguay mountains.

After passing over a steep defile, rendered almost impracticable
for troops by rugged rocks, and exuberant vegetation, he descended
into a beautiful valley or plain, extending along the coast, and em-
braced by arms of the mountains which advanced toward the sea.
His advance into the country was watched by the keen eyes of In-
dian scouts, who lurked among the rocks and thickets. As the
Spaniards were seeking the ford of a river at the entrance of the plain,
two of these spies darted from among the bushes on its bank. One
flung himself headlong into the water, and, swimming across the
mouth of the river, escaped ; the other being taken gave information
that six thousand Indians lay in ambush on the opposite shore,
waiting to attack them as they crossed.

The Adelantado advanced with caution, and, finding a shallow
place, entered the river with his troops. They were scarcely mid-

• Las Casas, Hist. Ind. Cap. 121. MS. P. Martyr, D. 1, L. 5.

Chap. VH.] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 407

way in the stream, when the savages, hideously painted, and looking
more like fiends than men, burst from their concealment. The
forest rang with their yells and howlings. They discharged a shower
of arrows and lances, by which, notwithstanding the protection of
their targets, many of the Spaniards were wounded. The Adelan-
tado, however, forced his way across the river, and the Indians took
to flight. Some were killed, but their swiftness of foot, their know-
ledge of the forestj and their dexterity in darting and winding through
the most tangled thickets, enabled the greater number to elude the
pursuit of the Spaniards, who were encumbered with armour, targets,
crossbows and lances.

By the advice of one of his Indian guides, the Adelantado pressed
forward along the valley, to reach the residence of Mayobanex at
Cabron. On the way he had several skirmishes with the natives,
who would suddenly rush forth from ambuscades among the bushes,
discharge their weapons with furious war-cries, and take refuge
again in the fastnesses of their rocks and forests, inaccessible to the
Spa,niards.

Having taken several prisoners, the Adelantado sent one, accom-
panied by an Indian of a friendly tribe, as a messenger to Mayoba-
nex, demanding the surrender of Guarionex, promising friendship and
protection in case of compliance, but threatening, in case of refusal,
to lay waste his territory with fire and sword. The cacique listened
attentively to the messenger ; when he had finished, " Tell the Span-
iards," said he, " that they are bad men, cruel and tj^rannical ; usurp-
ers of the territories of others, and shedders of innocent blood : I
have no desire of the friendship of such men. Guarionex is a good
man, he is my friend, he is my guest, he has fled to me for refuge, I
have promised to protect him, and I will keep my word."

When the messenger brought this magnanimous reply, or rather
defiance, the Adelantado saw that nothing was to be gained by
friendly overtures. When severity was required, he could be a stern
soldier. He immediately ordered the village in which he had been
quartered, and several others in the neighbourhood, to be set on fire.
He then sent further messengers to Mayobanex warning him that
unless he delivered up the fugitive cacique his whole dominions
should be laid waste in like manner ; and he would see nothing in
every direction but the smoke and flames of his burning villages.

The unhappy Ciguayans beholding the destruction which threat-
ened to overwhelm them cursed the day in which Guarionex had
taken refuge among them. They surrounded their chieftain with
clamorous lamentations, urging that the fugitive should be given up

i08 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP [Book XI

for the salvation of the country. The generous cacique was inflex-
ible. He reminded them of the many virtues of Guarionex, and the
sacred claims he had on their hospitality ; and he declared that he
was ready to abide all evils rather than it should ever be said Mayo-
banex had betrayed his guest.

The people retired with sorrowful hearts, and the chieftain, sum-
moning Guarionex into his presence, again pledged his word to stand
by him and protect him though it should cost him his dominions.
He sent no reply to the Adelantado, and lest any further messages
might be brought to shake the minds of his subjects, he placed men
in ambush, with orders to slay any messengers who might approach.
They had not lain in wait long when they beheld two advancing
through the forest, one of whom was a captive Ciguayan, the other
an Indian ally of the Spaniards. They were both instantly slain.
The Adelantado was following at no great distance, with only ten
foot soldiers and four horsemen. When he found his messengers
lying dead in the forest path, transfixed with arrows, he was greatly
exasperated, and resolved to deal rigorously with this obstinate tribe.
He advanced, therefore, with all his force to Cabron, w^here Mayo-
banex and his army were quartered. At his approach the inferior
caciques and their adherents, overcome by their terror of the Span-
iards, fled with the utmost rapidity. When the unfortunate Mayo-
banex found himself thus deserted he took refuge with his family in
a secret part of the mountains. Several of the Ciguayans sought
for Guarionex, to kill him or deliver him up as a propitiatory offering,
but he fled to the heights, where he wandered about alone, in the
most savage and desolate places.

The luxuriance of the forests and the ruggedness of the mountains
rendered this expedition excessively painful and laborious, and pro-
tracted it far beyond the time that the Adelantado had contemplated.
His men suffered not merely from fatigue but hunger. The natives
had all fled to the mountains : their villages remained empty and
desolate : all the provisions of the Spaniards consisted of cassava
bread and such roots and herbs as their Indian allies could gather
for them, with now and then a few utias, taken with the assistance
of their dogs. They slept almost always on the ground, in the open
air, under the trees, exposed to the heavy dew which falls in this
climate. For three months they were thus ranging the mountains,
until almost worn out with toil and hard fare. Many of them had
farms in the neighbourhood of fort Conception which required their
attention; they therefore entreated permission, since the Indiana
were terrified and dispersed, to return to their abodes in the Vega.

Chap. VIL] CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 409

The Adelantado granted many of them passports, and an allow-
ance out of the scanty stock of bread which remained. Retaining
only thirty men, he resolved with these to search every den and
cavern of the mountains until he should find the two caciques. It
was difficult, however, to come upon their traces in such a wilder-
ness. There was no one to give a clue to their retreat, for the whole
country was abandoned. There were the habitations of men, but
not a human being to be seen : or if by chance they caught some
wretched Indian stealing forth from the mountains in quest of food,
he always professed utter ignorance of the hiding place of the
caciques.

It happened one day, however, that several Spaniards, while
hunting utias, captured two of the followers of Mayobanex, who
were on their way to a distant village in search of bread. They
were taken to the Adelantado, who compelled them to betray the
place of concealment of their chieftain, and to act as guides.
Twelve Spaniards volunteered to go in quest of him. Stripping
themselves naked, staining and painting their bodies so as to look
like Indians, and wrapping their swords in palm-leaves, they were
conducted by the guides to the retreat of the unfortunate Mayo-
banex. They came secretly upon him, and found him surrounded
by his wife and children, and a few of his household, totally unsus-
picious of danger. Drawing their swords, the Spaniards rushed
upon them and made them all prisoners. When these captives
were brought to the Adelantado, he gave up all further search after
Guarionex, and returned to fort Conception.

Among the prisoners thus taken was the sister of Mayobanex.
She was the wife of another cacique of the mountains, whose terri-
tories had never yet been visited by the Spaniards, and she was
reputed to be one of the most beautiful women of the island. Ten-
derly attached to her brother, she had abandoned the security of her
own dominions, and had followed him among rocks and precipices,
participating in all his hardships, and comforting him with a wo-
man's sympathy and kindness. When the cacique, her husband,
who tenderly loved her, heard of her captivity, he was distracted
with grief, and hastening to the Adelantado, offered to submit him-
self and all his possessions to his sway, if his wife might be restored
to him. The Adelantado accepted his offer of allegiance, and re-
leased this Indian beauty, together with several of his subjects whom
he had captured. The cacique kept his word ; he became a firm
and valuable ally of the Spaniards, cultivating large tracts of land,
and supplying them with great quantities bread and other pro-
visions 2 K

410 LIFE AND VOYAGES OP fBooK XI.

Kindness appears never to have been lost upon this gentle people.
When this act of clemency reached the Ciguajans, they came in
multitQiies to the fortress, bringing presents of various kinds, pro-
mising allegiance, and imploring the release of Mayobanex and his
family. The Adelantado granted their prayer in part, releasing the
wife and household of the cacique, but still detaining him prisoner,
to ensure the fidelity of his subjects.

In the meantime, the unfortunate Guarionex, who had been
hiding in the wildest part of the mountains, was driven by hunger
to venture down occasionally into the plain in quest of food. The
Ciguayans looking upon him as the cause of their misfortunes, and
perhaps hoping by his sacrifice to procure the release of their chief-
tain, betrayed his haunts to the Adelantado. A party was imme-
diately dispatched to secure him. They lay in wait in the path by
which he usually returned to the mountains. As the unhappy
cacique, after one of his solitary and famished excursions, was re-
turning to his den among the cliffs, he was surprised by the lurking
Spaniards, and brought ni chains to tort Conception. After his
repeated insurrections, and tne extraordinary zeal and perseverance
displayed in his pursuit, Guarionex expected nothing less than
death from the vengeance of the Adelantado. Don Bartholomew,
however, though stern in his policy, was neither vindictive nor
cruel in his nature. He considered the tranquillity of the Vega
sufficiently secured by the captivity of the cacique ; and he ordered
him to be detained a prisoner and hostage in the fortress. The
Indian hostilities in this important part of the island being thus
brought to a conclusion, and precautions taken to prevent their re-
currence, Don Bartholomew returned to the city of San Domingo,
where shortly after his arrival he had the joy of receiving his bro-
ther the admiral, after nearly two years and six months' absence.*

Such was the active, intrepid and sagacious, but turbulent and
disastrous, administration of the Adelantado; in which we find
evidences of the great capacity, the mental and bodily vigour, of
this self-formed and almost self-taught man. He united in a singular
degree the sailor, the soldier, and the legislator. Like his brother
the admiral, his mind and manners rose immediately to the level of
his situation, showing no arrogance nor ostentation, and exercising
the sway of sudden and extraordinary powers with the sobriety and
moderation of one who had been born to it. He has been accused

* The particulars of this chapter are chiefly from P. Martyr, Decad. 1, Lib. 6 ;
the manuscript history of Las Casas, L. 1, C. 121 ; andHerrera, Hist. Ind. D. 1,
L 3, C. 8, 9.

Chap. VH-l CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS. 411

of severity in his government, but no instance appears of a cruel or
wanton abuse of authority. If he was stern towards the factious
Spaniards, ho was just ; the disasters of his administration were
not produced by his own rigour, but by the perverse passions of
others which called for its exercise; and the admiral, who had
more suavity of manners and benevolence of heart, was not more
fortunate in conciliating the good will and ensuring the obedience
of the colonists. The merits of Don Bartholomew do not appear to
have been sufficiently appreciated by the world. His portrait has
been suffered to remain too much in the shade; it is worthy of being
brought forth into the light, as a companion to that of his illustrious
brother. Less amiable and engaging perhaps in its lineaments, and
less characterized by magnanimity, its traits are nevertheless bold,
generous and heroic, and stamped with iron firmness.

BND OF VOL. I.

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